Pacers Lose Haliburton in NBA Finals—and Possibly for a Season

Tyrese Haliburton left it all out there for the Pacers—and got the worst possible outcome. 

The Pacers’ star, whose heroics carried the team through the postseason, injured his lower right leg in the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, which caused him to be carried off the court to avoid putting any weight on it. Shortly after, the Pacers officially ruled him out for the rest of the game, which they lost 103–91. Haliburton entered the game playing with a right calf strain and injured the same leg while driving to the basket. 

Haliburton had nine points in seven minutes before getting injured. All of his baskets were deep 3s. Despite his injury and exit, the Pacers had a one-point lead at halftime before the Thunder pulled away in the third quarter. Haliburton’s father, John, reportedly told ABC shortly before halftime that his son injured his Achilles. 

Calf injuries are difficult to play with. Kevin Durant tore his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals after injuring the same calf earlier in the playoffs. If Haliburton did tear his Achilles, he’d be the third NBA star to do so in the 2025 playoffs. Bucks guard Damian Lillard and Celtics wing Jayson Tatum both tore theirs in the first and second rounds, respectively. 

A torn Achilles would likely cost Haliburton the entire 2025–26 NBA season, too, which would make for a wide-open Eastern Conference with both Lillard and Tatum’s injuries hampering their own team’s contention chances. 

Haliburton is in the first year of a five-year, $244 million contract extension that goes through the end of the 2028–29 season. He made $42 million this year on a team that had the 18th-highest payroll in the league and has avoided paying the luxury tax for 20 years. 

The Pacers are prepared to enter the tax this summer to keep their conference-title winning core together, but Haliburton’s injury could change their plans if he misses extensive time next year. A week ago, the team traded its 2025 first-round pick (23rd overall) and Mojave King to the Pelicans for their own 2026 first-round pick, which was seen as a cost-saving measure since it takes one less salary off their books for this coming season.