Iowa State Alum Tyrese Haliburton Breaks Silence on Heartbreaking Game 7 Injury

Tyrese Haliburton was one of the best stories to come out of the NBA Playoffs this season. The young guard carried his Indiana Pacers team to the NBA Finals as an underdog.

The former Iowa State Cyclones superstar averaged 17.3 points per game (PPG), 8.6 assists per game (APG), and 5.3 rebounds per game (RPG) throughout 23 games and was attempting to do something no former Pacers player had ever been able to do, from Reggie Miller to George Hill to Paul George; bring a championship to Indiana.

The Pacers clawed their way back to force a Game 7 in the Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder when tragedy struck. Just 9 minutes into the game, Haliburton stepped back before accellerating forward. The movement resulted in the young star immediately falling to the ground with pain encompassing his face; he suffered a ruptured achilles.

On Monday night, Haliburton finally broke his silence on the injury with a post on X.

The 25-year-old said, "Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock. Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends? Makes no sense...

At 25, I’ve already learned that God never gives us more than we can handle. I know I’ll come out on the other side of this a better man and a better player. And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don’t regret it. I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. For the chance to do something special.

Indy, I’m sorry. If any fan base doesn’t deserve this, it’s y’all. But together we are going to fight like hell to get back to this very spot, and get over this hurdle. I don’t doubt for a second that y’all have my back, and I hope you guys know that I have yours. I think Kobe said it best when in this same situation. “There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.” And that’s exactly right. I will do everything in my power to get back right.

...So, give me some time, I’ll dust myself off and get right back to being the best version of Tyrese Haliburton."