Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton: Achilles Injury Made Me Think About Basketball Mortality

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is only 26 years old. He has a lot of basketball left in him. 

However, Haliburton revealed on his YouTube channel that his Achilles tear made him think about his basketball mortality for the first time. 

"It's the first time in my life that I've ever had to think about my basketball mortality," Haliburton said. "Getting hurt and missing a whole year is the first time as a young person that I have ever had to think about that or have thought about that at all. I just know that there is a lot more for me to accomplish as a basketball player."  

One of the top floor generals in the NBA, Haliburton had an outstanding 2024-25 campaign for the Pacers. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game and made the All-NBA Third Team.

Haliburton is averaging 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 the team in July 2023.

The talented playmaker will make $48,924,624 this season, $52,298,736 in 2027-28 and $55,672,848 in 2028-29, the final year of his deal.  

Indiana is expected to start Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac this season. That's a strong starting five on paper. 

Haliburton has career averages of 17.5 points and 8.8 assists per game in the regular season and 17.9 points and 8.4 assists per game in the playoffs. The basketball world is certainly glad that Haliburton is back.

The Pacers may have won Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder had Haliburton not gotten hurt. It was a cruel turn of events for Indiana. 

However, that's in the past and the Pacers are ready to shock the world again in 2026-27.

It's safe to say that Haliburton will never forget October 7, 2026. Haliburton not only made his return to the NBA, but he also did so at his alma mater. 

The Pacers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves at Iowa State. Haliburton purchased tickets for the student section and the university held a lottery for people to attend.

Haliburton spent two years at Iowa State from 2018 to 2020 before being selected in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. His college years have remained significant to him. He met his now-wife, Jade, during his time at Iowa State and proposed to her on Iowa State's court when the two got engaged.

The Pacers open this season on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans. The home opener is against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Haliburton will get a loud ovation from the Pacers crowd that night.