The Pacers had a little something for fans on Saturday: video of Tyrese Haliburton rising for an Eastbay dunk at the team’s practice facility.
It was a welcome sight for Indiana, because Haliburton hasn’t played since he ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 22, 2025. He had 9 points, all from 3-pointers, in the opening seven minutes before the non-contact injury on a dribble play with the score tied at 16. Oklahoma City went on to win 103-91.
Indiana later got more clarity on the timeline. On July 7, 2025, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said Haliburton would miss the entire 2025-26 season. The team also received a $14.1 million disabled player exception on July 24, 2025.
Haliburton’s rehab hasn’t been straightforward either. Shingles slowed him down this past winter, and he said the illness led to weight gain, part of his right eyebrow being lost, and the need to wear eyeglasses so he wouldn’t scratch a swollen eye.
Still, Haliburton sounded upbeat when he appeared Monday on The Pat McAfee Show and was asked about where things stood with training camps set to open in late September.
"I feel great. I feel great," Haliburton said.
The Pacers are holding onto hope that he’ll be back for the 2026-27 opener.
Before the injury, Haliburton was in the middle of another strong season. In 73 games in 2024-25, he averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.2 assists while shooting 47.3% from the field, 38.8% from 3-point range, and 85.1% from the free-throw line. He earned All-NBA Third Team honors.
He also delivered throughout Indiana’s playoff run, putting up 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 8.6 assists across 23 games. The Pacers beat Milwaukee, Cleveland, and New York before falling to Oklahoma City in seven games.
Haliburton’s path to Indiana started in Sacramento, which took him 12th overall in the 2020 draft. The Pacers acquired him in February 2022 in the Domantas Sabonis trade, and he has since averaged 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 10.1 assists with Indiana. He’s a two-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA selection.
His long-term contract reflects that status. In July 2023, Haliburton signed a five-year, $244.6 million extension. He is scheduled to make $48,924,624 in 2026-27, $52,298,736 in 2027-28, and $55,672,848 in 2028-29, the final season of the deal.
Indiana has had to navigate the aftermath of his absence. The Pacers finished 19-63 without him, and they entered June’s draft without a first-round pick after sending that selection and a 2029 first-rounder to the Los Angeles Clippers in February for Ivica Zubac. Zubac played 5 games for Indiana and averaged 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds.
The front office also made a few more moves this summer. Kelly Oubre Jr. signed a two-year deal reported at roughly $17 million on July 7, Larry Nance Jr. agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract on July 8, Micah Potter was waived and claimed by Portland, Taelon Peter was waived on July 20, and Jalen Slawson was signed to a two-way contract the next day. ESPN analyst Zach Kram gave Indiana’s offseason a "B-" this week.
Rick Carlisle is also back for another chapter. The Pacers coach is entering his sixth season of his second stint in Indianapolis after agreeing to a multiyear extension in August 2025, and he picked up his 1,000th career win on Jan. 8, 2026, at Charlotte.
In Other News...
Pacers Just Got A Brutal Reminder How Fast The East Changes
The East has a way of resetting itself in a hurry, and Indiana just got another reminder. While the Pacers spent the offseason trying to stabilize the roster around Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, Philadelphia quietly made a much louder move, landing LeBron James to join a group that already includes Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe. For a Pacers team that also added Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. in free agency, the message is clear: the margin for standing still in this conference is shrinking fast.
Indiana still has its own business to sort out, and it is not small business. The front office has extension decisions looming for Haliburton and Siakam, both central to whatever the next version of this team looks like, after a difficult previous season without Haliburton in the lineup. Even the draft did not break cleanly for the Pacers, with their first-rounder already out of their hands after the protections and lottery results sent it to the Clippers, another layer of pressure on a team trying to keep pace in a conference that keeps changing around it. [Read more 🡒]
Caitlin Clark Was Stunned By What LeBron Means For Philly
During WNBA All-Star Weekend, Caitlin Clark had plenty to say about the latest NBA shockwave, and her reaction carried the kind of surprise that comes when a league-altering name changes the balance of power. Clark said she had expected LeBron James to wind up back with a familiar franchise, then shifted quickly to what the move could mean for the Eastern Conference, where every contender suddenly has to reassess the road ahead.
Clark also made clear how much James has meant to her as a player she has admired for years, while tying the moment back to her own connection to Indiana basketball. She even joked about trying to bring him to the Pacers, a reminder of how far his decision reaches for fans who spend all year tracking the East, and how quickly one move can redraw the conversation around the teams they follow most closely. [Read more 🡒]