NBA Under Fire After Tyrese Haliburton's Apparent Achilles Injury

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered a devastating injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, going down in the first quarter with what is feared to be a major Achilles injury.

Haliburton had been playing through a calf strain against the Oklahoma City Thunder, saying he was willing to play through the discomfort in the deciding Game 7 on Sunday. 

The Athletic's Jared Weiss noted that Haliburton appears to be the third player to suffer a major Achilles injury during this NBA playoffs, which could point to a troubling trend away from player safety in the NBA.

"This could be the third star to injure his Achilles in this postseason run, if that is indeed what just happened to Haliburton," Weiss wrote in a post on X. "This is a devastating trend for the NBA that is going to need a substantial evaluation at the league level to understand why this keeps happening. It's just heartbreaking."

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard both suffered Achilles tears earlier in the playoffs. As Weiss noted, it's incumbent on NBA training staffs to better track the wear and tear on players -- something they've fallen short on, he suggested.