Tyrese Haliburton’s name was everywhere on Tuesday, and not just because of basketball. The Indiana Pacers star is now a married man, with Haliburton and Jade Jones set to hold their wedding ceremony Aug. 1.
At the same time, there’s growing optimism around his return to the floor. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that the Pacers are “extremely optimistic” Haliburton will be available for Day 1 of the season opener for the 2026-27 season.
That would be a major development for Indiana, which spent last season without Haliburton as he recovered from an Achilles tendon tear. Even with the injury absence, his standing around the league hasn’t changed. He’s still one of the NBA’s premier guards, coming off a strong 2024-25 season in which he averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while earning All-NBA Third Team honors.
The Pacers got Haliburton in the February 2022 Domantas Sabonis trade with the Sacramento Kings, and he’s been central to everything they’ve built since. In a Pacers uniform, he’s averaging 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per game.
Indiana locked him in with a five-year, $244 million extension in July 2023. His contract calls for him to make $48,924,624 next season, followed by $52,298,736 in 2027-28 and $55,672,848 in 2028-29, the final year of the deal.
Haliburton’s track record is already strong enough to explain the buzz. He has career regular-season averages of 17.5 points and 8.8 assists per game, along with 17.9 points and 8.4 assists per game in the playoffs. He also led the Pacers to the 2025 NBA Finals.
And if you ask his father, John, the expectation is simple: the Pacers are headed back toward the top. “I expect them right at the top,” John told Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson.
“I'm not going to lie to you. If you know basketball and you've been paying attention, you know that all of our rookies and second-year players got a chance to really go out there and grow through this run.
They got a chance to experience the game at the highest level, slow it down, and understand exactly what it takes to win.
“Now, by the time Tyrese gets back on the floor, these young guys have already been through the fire. So you tell me-what is going to stop them from going to the top?
New York won the championship this year, but they won it because Indiana wasn't fully standing in their way at the very end. Next year, with Tyrese back, Indiana will be standing right there.”
In Other News...
Pacers Need One More Bench Answer Around Obi Toppin
Obi Toppin has become exactly the kind of bench piece the Pacers hoped he could be, giving them efficient scoring and a steady lift behind the starters. He has settled in as one of the most reliable second-unit options in the rotation, and his production has been a bright spot for a bench that has thinned out over time.
The problem for Indiana is that the depth chart no longer feels nearly as sturdy as it once did, with the second unit leaning heavily on Toppin and TJ McConnell for proven production. That leaves the Pacers searching for one more young, useful answer to round out the group, and the front office may have enough flexibility to go hunting for a buy-low addition if the right opportunity surfaces. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers GM Admits Indiana Took A Real Swing At An NBA Legend
The Pacers at least made the call. General manager Chad Buchanan confirmed Indiana showed interest in LeBron James during free agency, a reminder that even a team built around Tyrese Haliburton is willing to dream big when a player of that caliber becomes available. Buchanan said the Pacers, like every team, had their pitch delivered to James agent, Rich Paul, and it fit a familiar offseason pattern for a franchise that is always looking for a way to accelerate its timeline.
Haliburtons own recruiting effort added a little more color to the pursuit, with James responding to the Pacers guards outreach with laughing emojis. It was a lighthearted exchange, but it also underscored how far Indiana was willing to reach for a true NBA legend, even if the chase never really had a realistic ending. [Read more 🡒]