Pacers GM Chad Buchanan says Tyrese Haliburton will be 100% full go with no initial restrictions when Indiana opens training camp.
Tyrese Haliburton will not have restrictions when Indiana Pacers training camp opens Tuesday, general manager Chad Buchanan said Thursday. Buchanan and assistant general manager Ted Wu spoke to reporters at the Pacers Foundation golf outing, four days before media day.
Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon on June 22, 2025, in the first quarter of Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who went on to win that night and take the title. He missed all of 2025-26, and Indiana finished 19-63, the second-worst record in the league and two games better than the Washington Wizards.
Haliburton Will Be Full Go in Training Camp
Buchanan said the medical staff will decide whether Haliburton, or anyone else, needs days scaled back once the season is underway.
"I think he's going to be 100% full go," Buchanan said. "We're relying on our medical staff if there's days that they need to scale back on him or any other guy, we're going to rely on that and how Ty's body responds to the rigors of an NBA season. But I don't think there's gonna be [any] restrictions right away for him."
In June, Buchanan took a more measured tone. He said at the time that Haliburton would not be his old self instantly and that everyone would need to have some grace with him. Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said that same month, at the AC Golf Classic, that Haliburton had dropped about 10 pounds, was already doing five-on-five work, and was expected to be ready for training camp.
He has since been fully cleared, after also dealing with shingles earlier this year.
This summer he ran scrimmages with teammates in Los Angeles. Last week, several Pacers gathered in Nashville, Tennessee, for a players-only minicamp before the start of camp.
Haliburton Focused on Adding Strength
Buchanan said Haliburton put an emphasis on adding strength, knowing how much contact he absorbs.
"I think he's still the same Ty personally," Buchanan explained. "His personality has not changed. He's still very upbeat, very joyful, charismatic, very vocal. He's still a major voice and leader in our locker room. That hasn't changed one bit. And that was evident last year even when he wasn't able to play."
"On the court, I think you're gonna see he's made an emphasis to maybe kinda get a little stronger physically," Buchanan continued. "I think he knows he takes a lot of contact during the game. And the more that he can absorb that and also deliver, that's gonna help his game. So I think that's an element of his game that will be a little different."
"But I think he would tell you, 'I still wanna play the same style that I've always played. This injury and how my body is a little different now is not gonna change my mentality,'" Buchanan added. "And he's a very cerebral player, and that's whether you're injured or not, you're always gonna have that as a tool, and that's gonna be what his game [is] centered on."
In 2024-25, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.2 assists. He made the All-NBA Third Team. He is in the fourth season of the five-year, $244 million extension he signed with Indiana in July 2023.
Haliburton Stayed With Pacers Throughout Rehab
He did not rehab away from the team last season. Haliburton spent games on the bench beside the coaching staff.
"I think Ted and I have both been in the league to know when, especially a star player like that is injured, what that means for the next year," Buchanan said. "Whether they're on their own little schedule and they're going to do, 'Hey, I just got to do what's right for me,' and whether that's being around the team or not around the team, that's not how Ty is wired. Ty is wired to know what does the team need from me rather than what do I need to do for the team always."
"And I think he made the decision, 'I want to be around the team. I enjoy my teammates. I enjoy being on the road. I enjoy the game. I enjoy the strategy,'" Buchanan detailed. "He's sitting over on the bench next to our coaches all season long and understanding what they're seeing and thinking, and they're picking his brain during games. And he's got such a brilliant mind when it comes to the game that I think he wanted to experience that side of it."
"And that's part of his growth as a player too, and he recognized that as, 'Hey, if I can sit over there and understand decisions that Rick and our staff are making, that helps me next year when I'm back on the court,'" Buchanan noted. "So at the core of Tyrese, Tyrese loves, lives, and breathes and [is] obsessed with basketball. And so any thought of him not being around the team last year never even crossed his mind."
Pacers Prepare for Haliburton's Return
Ivica Zubac, Kelly Oubre Jr., Larry Nance Jr., and rookie Braden Smith all joined the Pacers after Haliburton's injury. Zubac arrived in a Feb. 5 trade with the LA Clippers, Oubre and Nance signed in July, and Smith signed a two-way contract in August.
Haliburton will be 16 months removed from the injury on opening night. ESPN included him on its list of the league's top 20 players entering 2026-27.
The Pacers open Oct. 21 at the New Orleans Pelicans. Their first home game is Oct. 23 against the Dallas Mavericks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with tip-off at 7 p.m. ET.
