Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton of Oshkosh, Wisconsin is gone for the 2025-26 National Basketball Association regular season with a torn Achilles according to Aris Barkis of EuroHoops on Monday. This is a huge loss to a Pacers franchise that went to the NBA Finals this past year. In fact, the injury happened in game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals.
Haliburton was an integral part of the Pacers starting five in 2024-25. The two-time NBA All-Star was second on the Pacers with 18.6 points per game. He was only behind power forward Pascal Siakam of Douala, Cameroon, who had a team-high 20.2 points per game. Haliburton also led the Pacers with 9.2 assists per game, and 1.4 steals per game. He also had a field goal percentage of .473, a three point percentage of .388, a free throw percentage of .851 and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The value of Haliburton to the Pacers is very substantial. When he got hurt in Oklahoma City, the edge went instantly to the Thunder, and there was just an instant belief that Oklahoma City would win its first NBA Finals since they moved their organization from Seattle.
Haliburton is not the only NBA All-Star who will not be in the lineup next season. The other is Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum of St. Louis, Missouri. Tatum ruptured his Achilles in game four of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Celtics and Knicks. In 2024-25, Tatum led the Celtics in the regular season with 26.8 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game and six assists per game.
