Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has suffered a torn right Achilles tendon, as confirmed by the team on Monday.
The Pacers鈥 star is set to undergo surgery for the same soon.
Getting back might take some time after team officials confirmed Monday that the two-time All-Star tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, an injury that could cost Haliburton all of next season.
鈥淎n MRI taken on Monday confirmed that Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon. Surgery is scheduled later today with Dr. Martin O鈥橫alley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York,鈥 the team said.
The 25-year-old American point guard was injured on Sunday during a game-seven loss to Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals, which could potentially sideline him for the entire 2025-26 season.
The Pacers announced that Haliburton would have surgery on Monday in New York, performed by Dr Martin O鈥橫alley. This injury is reminiscent of the one that kept NBA star Kevin Durant out for a full season following his injury in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Haliburton is among several players who have suffered ruptured Achilles tendons in this year鈥檚 playoffs, including Boston鈥檚 Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee鈥檚 Damian Lillard. All three players鈥 availability for the next season remains uncertain.
NBA season too long?
With three stars possibly missing the next season due to torn tendons in the playoffs and the title game potentially affected by a major injury, the discussion about reducing the 82-game regular season is expected to resurface.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the issue earlier this month after Tatum and Golden State鈥檚 Stephen Curry sustained significant playoff injuries.
Silver explained that the NBA now provides more rest days during the playoffs than in previous seasons and asserted that there is 鈥渘o data鈥 indicating that fewer regular-season games would result in fewer injuries.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure it鈥檚 a function of the regular season,鈥 Silver stated.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a certain cadence to the playoffs. If anything, there鈥檚 more space in the playoff games than when you and I grew up in the NBA. We used to frequently play playoff games back-to-back on the weekends. Having said that, we, of course, look at it very closely.鈥
Silver mentioned that the NBA competition committee will next meet in July in Las Vegas. The NBA will start a new 11-year media rights deal worth $76 billion next season.
鈥淢oney is part of it, there鈥檚 no question about it. We鈥檙e a business,鈥 Silver said.
鈥淏ut having said that, I don鈥檛 really see the benefit to reducing the number of games. People used to say you should reduce the number of games because it would lead to a reduction in the number of injuries. There鈥檚 absolutely no data to suggest that.鈥
(with agency inputs)