Pacers ‘extremely optimistic’ Tyrese Haliburton will play opening night

The Indiana Pacers may be getting their franchise star back sooner than expected. During Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast of the Indiana Pacers’ NBA Summer League matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that the organization is increasingly confident Tyrese Haliburton will be ready for the start of the 2026-27 regular season after missing all of last year with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

“Tyrese Haliburton, as we know, suffered a gruesome Achilles injury, an Achilles tear, during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. He sat out all of last season, but there is good news. League sources have informed me that the Indiana Pacers are extremely optimistic that Haliburton will be available for day one of the season opener for the 26-27 season,” Haynes reported.

The update marks a significant development for Indiana after a difficult 2025-26 campaign without its All-Star point guard. The Pacers finished with the Eastern Conference’s second-worst record at 19-63 following Haliburton’s season-long absence.

Before suffering the injury, Haliburton had been one of the driving forces behind Indiana’s run to the 2025 NBA Finals. The Pacers pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to a winner-take-all Game 7, with Haliburton delivering one of the best postseason performances of his career.

Across 23 playoff games in 2025, Haliburton averaged 17.0 points, 8.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.0% from the field, 34.0% from 3-point range and 86.3% from the free-throw line. His postseason came to a heartbreaking end just moments into Game 7 of the NBA Finals, when he ruptured his right Achilles tendon and was forced to leave the floor early. Without their floor general, the Pacers were unable to complete their championship pursuit and instead endured a difficult rebuilding season in 2025-26.

His return next season could cause the Pacers to surge back into contention in an ever-competitive Eastern Conference.