Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of NBA Finals
No matter what, like you go into every night wanting to win and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way. And tonight could have been one of those nights where we found *** way. I’m so proud of this group. Uh, I wouldn’t have rather done it with any other group in the world. Um, it feels good to be *** champion. Jenny over here Jenny Carlson with the Oklahoman, you have some of the most unassuming leaders at the top, whether it’s Clay or Sam or Mark. I watched Mark just standing at the back of the podium or the stage there watching everybody else. What’s it like to be led by those three guys and see them celebrating tonight? Yeah, I’m so happy for the scenes that not everybody sees um don’t always get the credit. They’ve done an amazing job of building an environment, *** winning environment, uh, and it’s no fluke why we, uh, why we’re here and why we have some success and why we’ve grown so quickly. Uh, those guys have done *** great job of just giving us *** platform to be ourselves and be great. Uh, we did so. Tim, it’s, uh, *** real short list of guys who’ve won MVP and finals MVP in the same season. Yeah, the scoring title in there that list gets even shorter now that you guys have crossed the finish line. Are you able to wrap your head around? That historic company that you’ve joined. Yeah, it’s hard to. Believe that I’m, I’m part of that group. It’s hard to even fathom that I’m that type of basketball player sometimes, uh. As *** kid you dream and every kid dreams um but you don’t ever really know if it’s gonna come true and I’m just glad and and happy that my dream my dreams have been able to come true and that’s *** thank you to everyone that’s been in my corner that’s helped me get here. I wouldn’t be done without them. They know exactly who they are, um, so yeah, it’s *** win for the family. Ramona on the right. Shay, Ramona Shell, we’re on ESPN. You guys obviously faced some elimination games through throughout this playoff run. There were moments when you admitted, we sucked tonight, we didn’t get it done. How did you guys push through those moments at such *** young age here? Uh We prioritize winning. Uh, we don’t, we don’t prioritize anything else in this game. We want to win and we wanna win on the highest level, um, and that looks like something new every night, every opponent, every arena, um, and that’s all we focused on this whole season no matter if it was game one, game 45 or game 105, uh, we prioritize winning and because we did so we won on the highest level. Uh, 5th row in the back towards center Jordan Davis with Oklahoman, um, Shay, obviously, you know, you have the moment with Halliburton towards the after his injury. I mean, what could you just say about, um, you know, the competitor in that team and him as well? What did you say to him in that moment and. Yeah, I just asked him if he was all right. It seemed like he was in pain. Uh, you just hate to see it, um, in sports in general, but in this moment, like, my heart dropped for him. Like I couldn’t imagine, uh, playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate, it’s not fair, um, but competition isn’t fair sometimes. But yeah, I just felt so bad for him, um, and just asked if he was OK. Obviously he wasn’t, but, uh, prayers go out to him for sure. Hell of *** player, future is bright that team’s gonna be really good for *** long time. um, yeah, impressive team, impressive player, uh, I wish them the best of luck. Fred over here, 2nd row. Shay, you had so many big moments throughout the series 15 and 5 minutes in game 4 and and even the second half tonight just as *** distributor. I, I’m curious where your late game composure comes from. I mean, it was that something you felt like happened when you were younger? Is that something that happened as you got older? Where did that come from? Yeah, it’s something that I definitely got, as I’ve gotten older, coaches worked worked with me on that *** lot over the past. 33 or 4 years, um, just as the group has continued to grow. Um, something that I still can be better at, um, but yeah, it’s, it’s an emphasis of mine. Those are the minutes, those are the moments when um the best players, the biggest stars, the superstars, the Hall of Fame players, uh, make their name, um, and I wanna be, uh, I wanna have that name. I wanna have those titles attached to my name. So those moments, those minutes are very important to me and I, uh, try to excel in them for sure. Tim in the back center. Tim Reynolds with the AP. Shay when. I you’re only 20 minutes removed from winning it, so it’s kind of crazy, but has the realization hit you yet that you guys might be here for *** while, that you guys might be. Competing for *** few of these things, just just the way this thing is built and how young you guys are. Yeah, like you said, I haven’t even thought that far ahead, um, but, but yeah, we, we definitely have room to grow, and that’s the fun part of this. Uh, so many of us can still get better. Uh, there’s not very many of us on the team that are quote unquote in our prime. Um, or even close to it, so we have *** lot of room to grow individually and as *** group, and I’m excited for the future of this team, uh, but this is *** great start for sure. I couldn’t couldn’t imagine it any other way. Barry straight ahead. Yeah, Barry Trammell Tulsa World Show you talked about the uh the uh history that you personally made, but, uh, the team also had an historic season. Uh, doesn’t matter if you, if you don’t win tonight. all that history doesn’t matter, but you did. How much pride or uh what do you what stock you put in not just the championship but the way you guys played all season and really, you know, one of the great seasons in the history of the NBA. Yeah, it was impressive, um, but I think the most impressive part is like. The group that did it our togetherness on and off the court, like how much fun we have, uh, It, it made it so much easier and it and it made it feel like, like we were just kids playing basketball. Uh, it was so fun like. It’s all all the achievements and the accolades and things like they don’t even come close to like the satisfaction of like just winning with your brothers and people that you are so close to and want to succeed just as much as you want yourself to succeed so that that’s been the most impressive and most fun part of it just to know that I have 15 brothers that I just, uh, experienced *** once in *** lifetime experience with and uh I’ll never forget them, they’ll never forgive me. Valencia Valencia King Real Talk Sports, congratulations, Shay. You’ve mentioned how much fatherhood means to you when your little one gets older and starts to accomplish their goals. What will you tell them about the sacrifices it takes to reach such *** height? Yeah, uh, you’re gonna have to sacrifice, um. But ultimately, it’s your choice, it’s your life. Um, if you want something, go get it. You can if you want it. Um, and it’s that simple. Um. You might not always get the results you want, but you can control is going after it and giving it your all and see where that takes you. It’s all I did. Over here, Michael Martin, let’s talk Thunder. Shay, you guys won the title. You get through some big 21 seasons that people, I think, overlook some different injuries to yourself, Chad and others. What does it mean? How much sweeter does it make it to sort of get through all those things and be in for the long haul? Yeah, um, It feels great. Uh, it just goes to show like. When you prioritize the right things, um, when you have good intentions, good people around you, anything’s possible, um, and throughout this whole process. Sam has done *** really good job of just like being honest and upfront, not only myself but the rest of the group. Um, 23 years ago, like he came into the room and said, I think this is just when Chet got hurt in the summertime, and he was like, The noise is that we’re gonna take again because Chet lost. I mean, cause Chet got hurt, and he said like, our destiny is what we make it and no one else can control that. And that message like struck with me ever since that like. We can do whatever we wanna do out there just like how we’ve all got to the NBA no matter what anybody says, no matter who’s hurt or who’s not, um, and I think that that that talk is stuck in my head and I think *** few of the other guys as well and it’s *** big part of why we’re here. Second round on the right. Hi She Leander Sanja from ESPN Brazil. Congrats on the title, the finals MVP. Uh, you had 12 assists today. Your playoff career high. Um, how much pride do you take in that and getting your teammates involved and how important do you think that was for you guys to accomplish your goal? Yeah, uh, coming off of game 6, obviously had *** lot more turnovers than assists. Um, that’s not *** recipe for *** win, and I wanted to do whatever it took tonight to get *** win. Um, so Whether that would was me playing in space or it was them not letting me play in space and some of my teammates open just trying to make the right basketball play. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to win at the end of the night and, and, and I got enough done.
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Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon during Sunday night’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the team confirmed Monday after the point guard underwent an MRI.“Surgery is scheduled later today with Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York,” the Pacers said in a statement.The team said it will offer further updates on Haliburton’s status at a later time.The news – first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania – builds on what Haliburton’s father told ESPN’s broadcast during the game, which was that the point guard had suffered an Achilles injury.Haliburton’s injury was a brutal moment. Starting the game with three 3-pointers, Haliburton was talking trash to the Oklahoma City crowd, bouncing around like a ball of energy and looked ready to put his team on his back in the biggest game of his life.But with about five minutes to go in the first quarter, he made a quick move and planted his right foot onto the court. In slow-motion replays that were eventually shown repeatedly throughout the broadcast, the snap of his Achilles tendon was clearly visible, and he crumpled to the floor.Haliburton immediately looked distraught, pounding the court and appearing to yell, “No!” repeatedly. Adding to the pain of the moment was the fact that Haliburton had said after a dominant Indiana win in Game 6 that he wasn’t going to let an injury stop him from playing and that he knew the risks – but wanted to play on the biggest stage.“I want to be on the floor, and if I have the ability to, if I can – like I said, if I can walk, I want to be out there,” Haliburton said after Game 6. “I just want to be out there with my brothers to compete. Yeah, those guys have my back, and I feel like I have theirs at the same time. You know, that was important for me.”The look on Haliburton’s face as he was treated on the floor said it all. Much as when Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, he appeared to know his night – and potentially all of the 2025-2026 season – was done. He was helped off the court with a towel covering his head.For a time, his team rallied without their star. The Thunder and their fans at Paycom Center actually appeared to be the ones most affected by the injury as the eventual champions looked flat and listless for much of the second quarter while the Pacers played inspired ball.“You just hate to see it in sports in general, but in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I couldn’t imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s not fair. But competition isn’t fair sometimes,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder star who would be named the Finals MVP.But after the halftime break, the adrenaline wore off for Indiana and the Thunder returned to their normal, world-beating selves. A massive third quarter sparked a romp to victory for OKC as the Pacers could only be left wondering what might have been if Haliburton had been out on the floor.It was clear how much the game took out of the Pacers as they came off the floor following the game. Haliburton was shown on crutches, hugging his teammates as they came off the floor. Multiple Pacers were in tears as the emotions poured out.“We needed Ty out there. He’s been good for us all year, and for him to go down in the beginning of the game like that, it’s like it sucked the soul out of us,” Pacers forward Obi Toppin said.Said Indiana star forward Pascal Siakam: “He did some incredible things, like this whole playoff run and this year, and yeah, like I’m just super proud of him. Obviously, it hurts because we couldn’t get it done, and I wanted it so bad for him just because I know that he gave us everything, you know, everything he had. It just hurts that he couldn’t see it through with us.”Haliburton was the key to the Pacers’ impressive playoff run, hitting big shots over and over as Indiana looked undeniable at points. He produced one of the signature moments of the playoffs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals as he led the Pacers on a massive comeback in the final minutes against the New York Knicks, eventually hitting a tying shot as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime – and mimicked Reggie Miller’s famous “choke” celebration on the Madison Square Garden floor. Indiana eventually won that game in overtime.In the Finals, he recreated those heroics by helping to engineer a comeback win over the Thunder on the road in Game 1. He hit a mid-range jumper with 0.3 seconds to go in the game to give Indiana its only lead, stealing the series opener on the road.After being named the most overrated player in the league by his peers earlier in the season, Haliburton seemed to be on a mission to prove all the doubters wrong in the playoffs. He also hit game-winning shots to beat the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the earlier rounds.“I can’t imagine how he’s feeling. He’s having an amazing run to even get to this point, and for it to end like that, it’s heartbreaking,” Pacers center Myles Turner said.Haliburton now faces a long layoff that tosses the Eastern Conference next year into uncertainty. Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard and Boston Celtics lynchpin Jason Tatum also suffered the same injury during these playoffs, and it’s unknown how their teams will react to the long-term injuries.
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon during Sunday night’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the team confirmed Monday after the point guard underwent an MRI.
“Surgery is scheduled later today with Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York,” the Pacers said in a statement.
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The team said it will offer further updates on Haliburton’s status at a later time.
The news – first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania – builds on what Haliburton’s father told ESPN’s broadcast during the game, which was that the point guard had suffered an Achilles injury.
Haliburton’s injury was a brutal moment. Starting the game with three 3-pointers, Haliburton was talking trash to the Oklahoma City crowd, bouncing around like a ball of energy and looked ready to put his team on his back in the biggest game of his life.
But with about five minutes to go in the first quarter, he made a quick move and planted his right foot onto the court. In slow-motion replays that were eventually shown repeatedly throughout the broadcast, the snap of his Achilles tendon was clearly visible, and he crumpled to the floor.
Haliburton immediately looked distraught, pounding the court and appearing to yell, “No!” repeatedly. Adding to the pain of the moment was the fact that Haliburton had said after a dominant Indiana win in Game 6 that he wasn’t going to let an injury stop him from playing and that he knew the risks – but wanted to play on the biggest stage.
“I want to be on the floor, and if I have the ability to, if I can – like I said, if I can walk, I want to be out there,” Haliburton said after Game 6. “I just want to be out there with my brothers to compete. Yeah, those guys have my back, and I feel like I have theirs at the same time. You know, that was important for me.”
The look on Haliburton’s face as he was treated on the floor said it all. Much as when Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, he appeared to know his night – and potentially all of the 2025-2026 season – was done. He was helped off the court with a towel covering his head.
For a time, his team rallied without their star. The Thunder and their fans at Paycom Center actually appeared to be the ones most affected by the injury as the eventual champions looked flat and listless for much of the second quarter while the Pacers played inspired ball.
“You just hate to see it in sports in general, but in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I couldn’t imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s not fair. But competition isn’t fair sometimes,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder star who would be named the Finals MVP.
But after the halftime break, the adrenaline wore off for Indiana and the Thunder returned to their normal, world-beating selves. A massive third quarter sparked a romp to victory for OKC as the Pacers could only be left wondering what might have been if Haliburton had been out on the floor.
It was clear how much the game took out of the Pacers as they came off the floor following the game. Haliburton was shown on crutches, hugging his teammates as they came off the floor. Multiple Pacers were in tears as the emotions poured out.
“We needed Ty out there. He’s been good for us all year, and for him to go down in the beginning of the game like that, it’s like it sucked the soul out of us,” Pacers forward Obi Toppin said.
Said Indiana star forward Pascal Siakam: “He did some incredible things, like this whole playoff run and this year, and yeah, like I’m just super proud of him. Obviously, it hurts because we couldn’t get it done, and I wanted it so bad for him just because I know that he gave us everything, you know, everything he had. It just hurts that he couldn’t see it through with us.”
Haliburton was the key to the Pacers’ impressive playoff run, hitting big shots over and over as Indiana looked undeniable at points. He produced one of the signature moments of the playoffs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals as he led the Pacers on a massive comeback in the final minutes against the New York Knicks, eventually hitting a tying shot as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime – and mimicked Reggie Miller’s famous “choke” celebration on the Madison Square Garden floor. Indiana eventually won that game in overtime.
In the Finals, he recreated those heroics by helping to engineer a comeback win over the Thunder on the road in Game 1. He hit a mid-range jumper with 0.3 seconds to go in the game to give Indiana its only lead, stealing the series opener on the road.
After being named the most overrated player in the league by his peers earlier in the season, Haliburton seemed to be on a mission to prove all the doubters wrong in the playoffs. He also hit game-winning shots to beat the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the earlier rounds.
“I can’t imagine how he’s feeling. He’s having an amazing run to even get to this point, and for it to end like that, it’s heartbreaking,” Pacers center Myles Turner said.
Haliburton now faces a long layoff that tosses the Eastern Conference next year into uncertainty. Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard and Boston Celtics lynchpin Jason Tatum also suffered the same injury during these playoffs, and it’s unknown how their teams will react to the long-term injuries.
