Tyrese Haliburton Makes Emotional Post on Injury Return After '16 Months from Hell'

Tyrese Haliburton returned to the basketball court on Wednesday night, playing 16 minutes in the Indiana Pacers' 123-112 preseason win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Ames, Iowa.

Haliburton, who scored seven points and added six assists, two blocks and a steal in the win, said it was an emotional return to the court:

The 26-year-old star missed the entire 2025-26 season while recovering from the torn Achilles he suffered during Game 7 of the 2024-25 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Alongside his injury rehabilitation he also came down with a case of face shingles that required numerous medications and resulted in weight gain.

So you could understand if it felt very, very good for Haliburton to be hooping again, especially in front of the fans who once watched him play his college ball at Iowa State.