Tyrese Haliburton’s dream NBA Finals Game 7 start quickly turned into a nightmare as the Pacers star exited the winner-take-all title game with under five minutes to play in the first quarter with what appears to be a serious right leg injury. The fear is Haliburton, who was playing through a calf strain for the last two games, tore his Achilles tendon. Haliburton’s father, John, confirmed to ESPN that his son suffered an Achilles injury. The team called it a “right lower leg injury” and said Haliburton would not return.
NBA fans have become all too familiar in these playoffs with how a torn Achilles looks. Haliburton went down and was immediately in pain and looked like he knew it was a serious injury. Here’s the play in its entirety:
Haliburton came out on fire with three 3-pointers in the first quarter and looked to be on his way to a huge Game 7. Instead it was cut short seven minutes in, with Haliburton pounding his fist into the floor, yelling and crying. He knew.
Haliburton suffered the right calf strain in Game 5 last Monday, and ever since Kevin Durant tore his Achilles in the 2019 Finals after initially sustaining a calf strain earlier in the playoffs, people have made the connection.
Haliburton, for what it’s worth, addressed the risks of playing through the calf strain ahead of Game 6. Here’s what he told the Indy Star:
“I just had to hear that it was OK,” Haliburton said in the Pacers’ locker room in pre-game. “That’s all I really had to hear, honestly. I know the risks, I know everything that comes with it. I just had to hear it was OK.”
Haliburton was asked if he heard that there is not risk of further injury.
“No, I didn’t hear that,” Haliburton said. “No.”
Haliburton could become the third All-Star to tear his Achilles in these playoffs. Bucks star Damian Lillard did so in the first round, and Jayson Tatum of the Celtics went down in the second round. Both Lillard and Tatum will miss most or all of the 2025-26 season.
CBS Sports will update this story as more information becomes available.
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