Tyrese Haliburton says he’s returned to 5-on-5 action as Pacers star takes big step in Achilles recovery

During the final week of an NBA regular season that’s missed Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers star provided an encouraging update about his recovery.

“Played 5 on 5 today for first time since June,” the two-time All-Star point guard posted on X on Wednesday night.

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June is when Haliburton, 26, suffered an Achilles tear that cut his epic 2025 postseason short during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Haliburton was playing through a calf strain at the time. He knew the risks that came with that endeavor, and, yet, he rolled the dice in order to try to help the Pacers win their first NBA championship.

But in the first quarter of a fateful Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Haliburton stumbled while dribbling forward, hit the deck and, in obvious pain, pounded the hardwood with his hand.

Then tied, the game wound up in the Thunder’s hands, and Oklahoma City hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy while the Pacers wondered what could have been. Haliburton, after all, was a late-game assassin throughout last year’s playoffs.

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A day after Haliburton’s devastating injury, he shared a heartfelt message to fans on social media.

“Now that I’ve gotten surgery, I wish I could count the number of times people will tell me I’m going to “come back stronger.” What a cliche lol, this s*** sucks. My foot feels like dead weight fam. But what’s hurting most I think is my mind. Feel like I’m rambling, but I know this is something I’ll look back on when I’m through this, as something I’m proud I fought through. It feels good to let this s*** out without y’all seeing the kid ugly cry.”

In that message, he said he didn’t regret his decision to keep playing after sustaining a calf strain in Game 5. The former Iowa State standout and Sacramento Kings first-round pick apologized to the city of Indianapolis, but he assured Pacers faithful that he’d get back to being “the best version of Tyrese Haliburton.”

In July, the Pacers confirmed Haliburton wouldn’t play during the 2025-26 season. Team president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard noted the franchise didn’t want to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/tyrese-haliburton-says-hes-returned-to-5-on-5-action-as-pacers-star-takes-big-step-in-achilles-recovery-025330234.html

Author : Andy Backstrom

Publish date : 2026-04-09 02:53:00

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