Tyrese Haliburton Reveals Rehab Plan with Pacers for Next Season

During an interview on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," All-Star Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton unpacked how his recovery from an Achilles tendon tear will impact his travel plans with the team during the 2025-26 season.

The 6-foot-5 Iowa State product, who got hurt early into Game 7 of an eventual NBA Finals series loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, has already been ruled out for the entire year.

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But he still intends to travel with Indiana — at least, as much as he's able.

"I haven't even thought about what the season will call for," Haliburton said, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. "I probably won't be traveling as much early in the year depending on what stage of rehab I'm in. But I still want to be around the guys as much as possible. I think I want to take this time to keep growing my mind for the game."

"Being around coach (Rick) Carlisle. Sit in on coaches meetings," Haliburton said. "(Being around team president Kevin) Pritchard, talking to those guys and helping. I feel like I have a pretty decent basketball mind myself. So I'm just trying to help the guys as best as I can. I'm going to be on the bench as soon as I can walk."

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Losing Haliburton is going to deal a massive blow to Indiana's title chances in the summer of 2026. With their best player sidelined, free agent starting center Myles Turner opted to defect, inking a four-season, $108.9 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Starting shooting guard Andrew Nembhard is expected to be shifted to the Pacers' starting point guard role, leaving an opening on the wing. Centers Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman, and Jay Huff are expected to compete for Turner's old job.

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For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.