Tyrese Haliburton Says His Achilles Tear Wasn’t Caused by Workload

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, abruptly ending his playoff run.

Haliburton's injury was part of a concerning trend, as he was the third player to tear an Achilles during the 2025 playoffs (following Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard) and the seventh during the entire 2024-25 season, with three occurring on the Pacers.

Despite many attributing the spike in Achilles tears to the demanding 82-game NBA schedule, Haliburton rejects this explanation. Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, he dismissed the schedule as the cause, calling the injuries simply "bad luck." He argued that while factors like too many games or minutes might be true, they aren't the direct cause, and people are too quick to assign blame after such injuries.

Haliburton described many of these tears as "freak injuries" because players often feel no warning signs beforehand. However, he noted his situation was different, as it was well-known he was managing a calf injury during the Finals.

As a result of the injury, Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 season. His absence reportedly influenced Pacers center Myles Turner's decision to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks used the stretch provision on Damian Lillard to facilitate Turner's signing; Lillard, who tore his Achilles against the Pacers in April, recently agreed to return to the Portland Trail Blazers and is also at risk of missing next season.