Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Tyrese Haliburton shows he's a man of high character

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 12:36 PM ET

Tyrese Haliburton could have heeded the warning signs and sat out the NBA Finals, especially after his peers — Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum — all faced the same calf-to-Achilles injury fate.

Instead, he was too driven by the goal of bringing the Indiana Pacers a franchise-first championship. When the worst came to pass, the guard was shaken, but not regretful.

In a heartfelt social media post, Hali underlined that he doesn't "regret" risking his health — and potentially missing the entire 2025-26 season — as he left it all on the floor for a shot at immortality.

"I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. For the chance to do something special," he wrote of risking injury. "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."

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.

Now that I’ve gotten surgery, I wish I could count the… pic.twitter.com/UyY0iFEp6Z
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) June 24, 2025

The 25-year-old vowed to come back stronger, while assuring the Pacers fan base that they'll be back in "this very spot" of competing for a championship and get over the final "hurdle" and win it all.

Haliburton's 451-word post almost serves as a self-therapeutic message that could help him overcome the devastating blow. He begins by wondering why the injury happened to him, with words such as "makes no sense" and this "expletive sucks," but then quickly acknowledges that the setback is merely a part of his journey.

He even quoted the late Kobe Bryant, who famously asked fans to stop feeling sorry for him after his Achilles tear — "There are far greater issues/challenges in the world" than a torn Achilles, Bryant had said.

Haliburton continues to demonstrate he's a man of honor and high character, less than 24 hours after showing sportsmanship by walking over on crutches to congratulate Thunder players in the tunnel and comforting his teammates after a Game 7 loss.

His apology to the city of Indianapolis only furthers that point. Here's hoping he comes back stronger than ever. The basketball gods will see to it.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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