Tyrese Haliburton Injury Update: When Will He Return to Pacers?

There is buzz that Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum could return this season after suffering a torn Achilles in last year's playoffs. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered the same injury this past spring, so is he on a similar timeline? Below, we will deliver a Haliburton injury update and look at potential dates for when he could return.

🏥 Is Tyrese Haliburton out for the season?

Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Because the injury occurred in the last possible game of the 2024-25 season, most assume that Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 campaign.

An Achilles tear is one of the most difficult injuries to recover from, particularly for an NBA player. The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel bone, so it is a part of the body that is always under a ton of stress while playing basketball. It is key for a basketball player’s explosiveness.

The general rule of thumb for this type of injury is a full year of recovery. Haliburton seems to be on the normal track in his rehab, so it is pretty much certain that he misses the entire 2025-26 season but is ready to go by opening night of the 2026-27 campaign.

🏀 When will Tyrese Haliburton return and be back with Pacers?

One of the quickest Achilles recovery stories involved the late Kobe Bryant. Bryant tore his Achilles in April 2013 but was back on the floor by December 2013. His recovery took just 240 days.

While that no doubt showed Bryant’s toughness, it is also a cautionary tale. Bryant fractured his left knee just six games into his comeback and wound up missing the rest of the 2013-14 season. 

Kevin Durant, on the other hand, took the long road in his Achilles recovery and that proved to be beneficial. Like Haliburton, Durant suffered his Achilles injury during the NBA Finals. He missed the entire 2019-20 season and came back in December of 2020 for the 2020-21 season.

Durant wound up playing 35 regular season games in 2020-21 and also 12 playoff games.

It seems that Haliburton will be taking the Durant path over the Kobe path.

⏳ How long will Tyrese Haliburton be out for?

The Pacers did put out of definitive statement regarding Haliburton’s potential to play in the 2025-26 season this past July.

“I have no doubt that [Haliburton] will be back better than ever,” Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said on July 7, shortly after Haliburton had surgery. “The surgery went well. It was a little higher, and he gets more blood to that [as he recovers]. He will not play next year, though. We would not jeopardize that now. So don’t get any hopes up that he will play.”

Of course, many Pacers fans did get their hopes up in early September when Haliburton revealed that he was out of a walking boot. That, combined with the increased likelihood that Tatum winds up playing for the Celtics late in the 2025-26 season, has given Pacers fans an inkling of thought that Haliburton could possibly be back late in the campaign. 

Still, the smart bet would be on Haliburton missing the entire 2025-26 season.

🏁 Pacers betting odds

NBA title odds show the Pacers with a +12500 price to win it all. The best NBA betting sites have Indiana with +152 odds to make the playoffs.

The Pacers' win total has been set at 36.5 victories.