Tyrese Haliburton is already looking past the comeback itself. For him, the bigger story is what comes after: finally sharing the floor with Ivica Zubac.
On the Numbers on the Board podcast, the Pacers guard said the pairing could change the shape of his game.
“Playing with Ivica Zubac is going to be transformational for me because I never played with a screen setter like that.”
That kind of comment carries real weight coming from Haliburton, because so much of his value comes from bending defenses and creating easy looks for everyone else. He’s a two-time All-Star and one of the league’s top playmakers, and the idea of adding a bruising, reliable screener gives him another way to stress defenses.
Zubac landed in Indiana at last season’s trade deadline in a blockbuster move that sent Benedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks, and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers. Kobe Brown also came back to Indiana in the deal.
His first stint with the Pacers barely got started. Injuries limited him to five games, and he averaged 11.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 47.2% from the field.
But the bigger sample says something different about what Zubac brings. For his career, he’s averaged 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 61.4 percent from the field. Across eight seasons with the Clippers, he posted 11.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and hit 62.7% of his shots.
His strongest season came in 2024-25, when he put up 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks while shooting 62.8% from the field. That work also earned him sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting and a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team.
Now Indiana gets the version of Zubac Haliburton is talking about, and it gets to see it with a healthy floor general beside him.
The Pacers went 19-63 last season and finished 14th in the Eastern Conference after injuries ripped through the roster. Haliburton missed the entire year while rehabbing the Achilles tear he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
He also used the podcast to talk about other parts of his journey. Haliburton said he felt the NBA disrespected him by scheduling his first game back against the New Orleans Pelicans on the road. He also said the Kings told him to buy a house before he was shockingly traded to the Pacers in 2022.
Haliburton added that he had hoped to be drafted by the Warriors and become Stephen Curry’s running mate, but that never happened. He also said he’s fully healthy and ready for next season.
His return already changes the Pacers’ outlook. He was the driving force behind Indiana’s remarkable 2025 playoff run to the NBA Finals before the Achilles injury ended it.
With Zubac now in the mix, the comeback comes with a new wrinkle. A strong screen can buy Haliburton the sliver of space he needs to get downhill, rise into a jumper, or pick apart a defense with a pass. And if the big man rolls hard, opposing centers have to make a choice they won’t like.
Indiana isn’t just getting its point guard back. Haliburton thinks he’s coming back to a center unlike any he’s played with before.
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