Tyrese Haliburton said he felt capable of playing nine months after Achilles surgery, but explained how dramatically different his body feels at 14 months.
Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton is 14 months out from Achilles surgery. He spent Monday night at Victory Field, captaining a team at the Pacers Foundation Charity Softball Classic. His first game back is Oct. 21 in New Orleans. That lands near 16 months.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones used the same surgeon. Jones is at nine months and starts Sept. 13.
"With the Achilles, the recovery, there's a big difference from, like, nine to 12, 12 to 15," Haliburton said. "That's what I've heard from everybody. And even I, at nine months, I felt like, hey, I could probably play. And even where I feel now is completely different than I did nine months ago."
"So him, he doesn't necessarily have the benefit of that. He's at nine months now," Haliburton continued. "But I'm very curious to see how he feels in three months. Obviously there's less movement in his position than what I do. But I'm excited to see. I know he's going to be great. I know he's going to do awesome."
Nine months put Haliburton in late March. The Pacers were closing a 19-63 season. It was the worst in franchise history. Haliburton had not been cleared for contact. Facial shingles, diagnosed Feb. 22, had slowed the rehabilitation over the winter.
Haliburton played through a calf strain in the Finals. The tear came June 22, 2025, seven minutes into Game 7, on a play with no contact. Surgery followed the next day, and the Pacers issued no recovery timeline with it.
Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers' president of basketball operations, closed the question on July 7, 2025.
"He will not play next year though," Pritchard said. "We would not jeopardize that now. So don't get any hopes up that he will play."
Indiana received a $14.1 million disabled player exception on July 24, 2025.
Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard tore Achilles tendons during the same 2025 postseason, Lillard in the first round against Indiana and Tatum in the second round against New York. Tatum's recovery began roughly a month before Haliburton's.
In late January, at about seven months, Haliburton was playing full-court 4-on-4 against team interns and Pacers reserves. He was up 30 pounds from his last game and said he still had "some time" before he would be back to his old self.
NBA insider Chris Haynes reported in July that Indiana was optimistic about having him for opening night. Week 52 of the post-surgery program came around the same time, and Haliburton put a video of it on his YouTube channel.
"I'm playing five-on-five, doing hard workouts every day," Haliburton explained. "I could pretty much say I'm back at this point."
On Aug. 12, he told reporters he would be ready if the season started that day.
Sacramento drafted Haliburton 12th in 2020 and traded him to Indiana in 2022 for Domantas Sabonis. Over six seasons, he's played 333 games, started 294, averaging 17.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 8.8 assists, with a 47.7% field goal and 39.2% three-point percentage.
Haliburton has averaged 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 10.1 assists since the trade. He signed a five-year, $244 million extension in July 2023. It pays him $48,924,624 this season, $52,298,736 in 2027-28, and $55,672,848 in 2028-29, the final year of the deal.
The Pacers open the regular season on Oct. 21 against the Pelicans. Indiana's home opener follows two nights later against the Dallas Mavericks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
