Tyrese Haliburton will return for the Indiana Pacers’ season opener after missing all of last season with a torn Achilles.
What happened?
According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Pacers are extremely optimistic Haliburton will be available for Day 1 of the 2026-27 season. Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 campaign recovering from the injury. The All-NBA guard last played in the Pacers’ 2025 NBA Finals run.
Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in 2024-25. He made the All-NBA Third Team that season. Indiana acquired him from Sacramento in the February 2022 Domantas Sabonis trade.
Why it matters for Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton has posted 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per game in a Pacers uniform. He signed a five-year, $244 million extension with Indiana in July 2023. His deal pays $48,924,624 next season, $52,298,736 in 2027-28 and $55,672,848 in 2028-29.
Haliburton’s father, John, expects the Pacers to contend immediately upon his return. “I expect them right at the top,” John told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson. “If you know basketball, you know our rookies and second-year players grew through this run. They’ve already been through the fire.”
What comes next?
The Pacers open the 2026-27 season with Haliburton back in the lineup. Indiana fell short in the 2026 NBA Finals, won by the New York Knicks. Haliburton led the Pacers to the 2025 NBA Finals.
Haliburton owns career averages of 17.5 points and 8.8 assists in the regular season, 17.9 points and 8.4 assists in the playoffs. His return shifts Indiana’s championship odds upward.
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