It’s been a month since Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton had surgery to repair a torn Achilles he suffered during Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It was a devastating blow for the Pacers, who took the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder the distance despite many people expecting the series to be a sweep. It’s an injury that will surely leave very many Pacers fans wondering “what if” as Indiana might’ve had a good shot at winning that game and the title if Haliburton hadn’t gone down.
Haliburton will miss the entirety of next season as he rehabs, and despite the gut punch that the injury is, he seemed to be in good spirits when appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday. The Olympic gold medalist shared that recently Kevin Durant dropped by his house to talk with him as the two have a new shared experience.
“It’s funny, K.D. has said he’s tired of being the Achilles guy,” Haliburton said. “But I think it’s just how it had to happen, because not many guys have been able to come back and play at such a high level. He’s been kind of the poster child of that in our game, so I think it’s easy for all of us to just reach out to him.”
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Durant suffered an Achilles injury during the 2019 NBA Finals. Like Haliburton, Durant’s injury situation began as a calf strain before turning into the much more series Achilles tear. Durant missed the 2019-20 season, but has continued to operate at an All-NBA level since. As Haliburton said, Durant’s pretty much been the prime example of being able to come back from an injury that can typically alter a player’s career significantly.
“K.D. actually came and visited me the other day, came to my house which was pretty cool,” Haliburton said. “We sat down for a while, just talked and that was pretty cool. I think that for me it’s just about trying to get my mental right. That’s why I’m trying to — you know I go to all the [Indiana] Fever games, I try to just figure out things to do to keep my mind off things. I got a great village, a great support system in my family and my friends, and I’m just doing everything I can.”
“When I’m alone — which isn’t a ton — I sit there and think about everything that’s happened and it’s like, that sucks. It genuinely sucks. I’m gonna fight like hell to get back, and hopefully have this opportunity to win a championship again, but that’s not guaranteed. I think that feeling sits with me sometimes and that sucks, but I can’t really control the past or what’s to happen in the future. All I can do is attack this rehab the best I can and figure it out that way.”
With Haliburton sidelined, the Pacers’ outlook next season has dramatically shifted. This was a team that probably had a great chance of getting back to the Finals prior to his injury, and now they’re looking like a play-in team or perhaps even a lottery-bound squad now that Myles Turner signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. Losing him in that Game 7 hurt on several levels as Haliburton said there’s no guarantee that he and the current iteration of the Pacers will find themselves in that position again.
Looking ahead, it’s going to be a long journey for Haliburton to get back on an NBA court. But when he does it will certainly be a very warm, loud welcoming from Pacers fans who are no doubt counting down the days until he suits up in the navy and gold again.