The Indiana Pacers are heading into this season with a very different look than the 19-63 group that finished second-worst in the Eastern Conference a year ago, and the biggest reason is simple: Tyrese Haliburton is back.
Bleacher Report is projecting Indiana to finish 46-36, a 10-game jump over .500 that would mark a major turnaround for the franchise. That expectation is built around Haliburton’s return after he missed all of last season while recovering from an Achilles tendon tear.
When he was on the floor in 2024-25, Haliburton looked every bit like one of the league’s premier playmakers. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, and earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team. Over his Pacers career, he has put up 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per game in a Pacers uniform.
Indiana has also built the roster around him with a starting five that is expected to feature Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac. On paper, that is a group that gives the Pacers plenty of firepower.
Haliburton’s résumé speaks for itself. In the regular season, he owns career averages of 17.5 points and 8.8 assists per game, and in the playoffs those numbers sit at 17.9 points and 8.4 assists per game. He signed a five-year, $244 million extension with Indiana in July 2023, and his salary this season is $48,924,624 before climbing to $52,298,736 in 2027-28 and $55,672,848 in 2028-29, the final year of the deal.
The Pacers’ recent past also makes this reset even easier to appreciate. They may have won Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder had Haliburton not been injured, a brutal twist for Indiana. But that storyline is behind them now, and the expectation is that the team is ready to make noise again in 2026-27.
Haliburton’s return carries a special layer of meaning, too. He won’t forget October 7, 2026, when he came back to the NBA at his alma mater against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Iowa State. He bought tickets for the student section, and the university held a lottery for fans who wanted to be there.
His connection to Iowa State still runs deep. Haliburton spent two years there from 2018 to 2020 before being taken in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. That chapter also ties into his personal life: he met his now-wife, Jade, during his time at Iowa State and proposed to her on the school’s court when they got engaged.
Indiana opens the season on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans, and the home opener comes against the Dallas Mavericks.
In Other News...
Braden Smith Is Giving Pacers Fans A Real Backup Guard Debate
Braden Smith keeps making this an interesting preseason subplot for the Pacers. In 14:22 of regulation against the Bucks, the two-way guard handed out 6 assists while dealing with 3 turnovers, another reminder that his feel for the game is already easy to see even as he works through the usual edges of a young guard trying to earn more trust. Indiana lost in overtime, but Smiths presence was still noticeable in the kind of minutes that often tell a team whether a prospect can hang at this level.
Tyrese Haliburton offered a notable endorsement afterward, praising Smiths passing and comparing his baseline instincts to T.J. McConnell, who sat out because of an undisclosed issue. For the Pacers, that kind of internal comparison matters because it speaks to more than one skill set at once: Smith is still developing his aggressiveness, but the passing vision is real enough that it is already inviting a backup guard discussion in camp. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburtons Fiery Bucks Exchange Looks Even More Personal Now
The preseason meeting between the Pacers and Bucks on Oct. 15 already had more edge than most exhibition games, thanks to a heated exchange between Tyrese Haliburton and Ryan Rollins after a hard foul. Haliburton was hit with a technical on the spot, then answered with a made 3 and more words in Rollins direction, turning a routine tune-up into one of the more animated moments of the night.
Milwaukee ended up edging Indiana 128-127 in overtime, though neither guard saw the extra period. Even in a game that meant little in the standings, the back-and-forth stood out because it showed how quickly the matchup can turn from preseason casual to something far more personal, especially with both teams spending the night sorting out physicality and pride. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburton's Emotional Pacers Return Meant More Than One Night
Tyrese Haliburtons first trip back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse since the 2025 NBA Finals carried far more weight than a preseason box score. After missing the entire 2025-26 season while recovering from a torn Achilles, Haliburton was back on the floor in the preseason finale against the Bucks, and the night had the feel of a long-awaited checkpoint for both the Pacers and their point guard.
Haliburton finished with 17 points and 6 assists in just over 20 minutes, but the more meaningful part was simply seeing him move, compete and look at home again in front of an Indiana crowd that has been waiting a year to welcome him back. He spoke afterward about how much it meant to return healthy and about his appreciation for the fan base, and for a team that still measures itself by his presence, the comeback night felt like more than a tuneup. [Read more 🡒]