Tyrese Haliburton Gives Achilles Injury Update, Can Walk Without Scooter, Crutches

Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton provided a positive update Friday on the torn Achilles he suffered during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Speaking to reporters at his youth basketball camp, Haliburton noted that he is already able to walk in a boot without the aid of crutches or a scooter:

Haliburton added that the next step in his recovery is walking while wearing shoes rather than a boot "over the next couple of weeks."

Regarding his road back from such a devastating injury, Haliburton said he has "good days and bad days," before adding: "It's a long process. This injury, to get back to 100 percent, is usually about a year long. We're only in Week 6, almost Week 7 now, so we still got a lot of time to get there. I think every little progression is exciting for me."

Haliburton, 25, was named an All-Star during his first two full seasons with the Pacers in 2022-23 and 2023-24. While he didn't earn an All-Star nod last season, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team for a second consecutive year and played a massive role in Indiana's deep playoff run.

Appearing in 23 playoff games, Haliburton averaged 17.3 points, 8.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 three-pointers made and 1.3 steals per contest, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Haliburton made clutch shot after clutch shot for a Pacers team that eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks en route to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000.

After struggling mightily in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against OKC due largely to a calf strain, Haliburton's status for the rest of the series was unclear, but he bounced back to score 14 points in the Pacers' Game 6 win, forcing a Game 7.

Haliburton was hot out of the gate in Game 7, knocking down three of his four three-point attempts in the first quarter, but he went down with a non-contact injury that knocked him out of the game and allowed the Thunder to cruise to a 103-91 victory to clinch the championship.

Despite the progress Haliburton has made thus far, it is already known that he won't play in a competitive NBA game again until the 2026-27 season.

Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard told reporters last month that Haliburton will sit out the entire 2025-26 campaign.

That, coupled with losing center Myles Turner to the Bucks in free agency, is a huge blow to the Pacers and their chances of contending next season.

Although they still have Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell in the fold, it is possible the 2025-26 season could be a lost year, and the Pacers may not return to the playoff mix until Haliburton is back in the fold.