Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tear in the NBA Finals was one of the most disheartening injuries we’ve seen in the league. For it to happen just a few minutes into a Game 7 right after Haliburton had gotten off to such a fast start — nine points in the first five minutes — just added to the already heartbreaking situation.
Haliburton said on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday that he knew it was his Achilles as soon as it happened, and also noted that after writhing on the ground in pain, he thought about trying to have a Kobe Bryant moment by walking off under his own power.
“After I got hurt and I was on the ground, I was like ‘Let me walk,'” Haliburton said. “Kobe [Bryant] walked, I’m walking. So when I got up, and went to take a step, there was no chance. I was like, ‘Don’t touch me, I’m gonna walk,’ and when I went to move my leg, it’s like dead weight on the end of your leg. The fact that Kobe shot a free throw and walked off, is unbelievable. Certain guys have walked off, but when I went to take a step, that’s when the guys threw a towel over me because my face was just like — I couldn’t believe what was actually happening in the moment.”
Tyrese Haliburton received visit from Kevin Durant as he tries ‘to get my mental right’ amid Achilles recovery
Jasmyn Wimbish
Haliburton is referring to when Bryant tore his Achilles during a game against the Golden State Warriors in 2013. He fell to the ground after getting fouled and was grabbing at his left ankle area. He eventually stood to his feet and shot both free throws with 3:08 remaining in the game, which ended up tying the game. Immediately following his free throws, the Lakers intentionally fouled to get Bryant out of the game. But he didn’t need assistance in getting to the bench, he barely even hobbled to get over there. In true “Mamba Mentality” fashion, Bryant slowly walked to the bench and went straight back to the locker room.
Haliburton tried to have a moment similar to Bryant, but the pain was clearly too much, which only speaks to how impressive it was that Bryant managed to walk with no help back to the locker room. Kevin Durant similarly needed very little help in getting to the locker room when he tore his Achilles during the 2019 Finals, which ended up keeping him out for the following season.
There’s no shame in needing the help of some teammates or staff members when suffering a devastating injury like that, but given how much pain Haliburton was in, and telling us that there was no way he’d be able to walk off on his own, shows how wild it is that Bryant and Durant managed to practically walk off with little issue.