Jun 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) is assisted after an apparent injury following a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Pacers News: Trainer Reveals Why Tyrese Haliburton, Young Stars Are Suffering Achilles Tears

Originally posted on Indianapolis Pacers on SI
By Ryan Stano | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Indiana Pacers had three players suffer a torn Achilles tendon last season. James Wiseman, Isaiah Jackson, and Tyrese Haliburton all suffered the devastating injury.

Haliburton was the last of the three to suffer the injury, having it take place just seven minutes into Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He will be out all of next season.

Haliburton, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum all suffered the same injury during the playoffs. One trainer believes he understands why this injury is starting to become more common in NBA players.

Trainer believes he knows why Pacers star suffered a torn Achilles

Former long-time NBA trainer Gary Vitti talked about all of the injuries that have been suffered in recent years while on Byron Scott's Fastbreak. He thinks he knows why players are starting to suffer Achilles tears.

"What we hear a lot is 'too many games, too much basketball at a young age.' That is absolutely true...if you hit a link in the kinetic chain that can't handle the load, it's going to fail, and that starts at the heel strike. It could be your Achilles tendon, could be your plantar fascia."

Essentially, Vitti believes that it all boils down to kids playing too many games at a young age and not having a strong enough core. He believes that having a stronger core would fix everything for players.

That will likely be something that will be a key part of Haliburton's rehab moving forward. He wants to make sure that he never suffers an injury like that again.

The Pacers need to revamp their offseason training program

If Indiana is going to make sure that they don't have players suffer this injury again, they have to revamp their offseason training camp program. They have to protect their players.

The training staff has been researching why all of these injuries happened in one season. They believe that it was a fluke thing, but they also need to be more proactive in preventing those injuries.

Haliburton will take this year to rehab his injury and will be ready to take the Pacers back to the Finals in the 2026-27 season.

This article first appeared on Indianapolis Pacers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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