The Indiana Pacers may not have to wait long to get Tyrese Haliburton back in the lineup. During Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast of the Pacers’ NBA Summer League game against the Philadelphia 76ers, NBA insider Chris Haynes said the team is now “extremely optimistic” Haliburton will be ready for opening night of the 2026-27 season.
“Tyrese Haliburton, as we know, suffered a gruesome Achilles injury, an Achilles tear, during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. He sat out all of last season, but there is good news. League sources have informed me that the Indiana Pacers are extremely optimistic that Haliburton will be available for day one of the season opener for the 26-27 season,” Haynes reported.
That would be a major lift for Indiana after a rough 2025-26 campaign without its All-Star point guard. The Pacers finished 19-63, which was the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Haliburton’s absence was felt immediately after he had helped drive Indiana all the way to the 2025 NBA Finals. The Pacers pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to a winner-take-all Game 7, and Haliburton was in the middle of one of the strongest playoff runs of his career before the injury hit.
In 23 postseason games in 2025, he averaged 17.0 points, 8.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.0% from the field, 34.0% from 3-point range and 86.3% from the free-throw line. His run ended in heartbreaking fashion just moments into Game 7 of the Finals, when he ruptured his right Achilles tendon and had to leave the floor early.
Without him, Indiana couldn’t finish the job and instead went through a difficult rebuilding season in 2025-26. If Haliburton is indeed ready for opening night next season, the Pacers could be back in the mix in a crowded Eastern Conference.
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