Following their improbable 2025 NBA Finals run, the Indiana Pacers’ future is in question after receiving confirmation of star point guard Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles injury. According to The Athletic’s David Aldridge, Sam Amick and Shakeia Taylor, the organization will be hard-pressed to overcome the prolonged absence of its top player.
Haliburton spearheaded Indiana’s Cinderella run as a fourth seed (50-32) that saw it upset the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 and No. 3 seeds. His elite facilitating and late-game heroics also helped his squad push the league-best Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14) to seven games in the finals.
However, after sustaining a right calf strain in Game 5, Haliburton opted to risk playing through his injury, later tearing his right Achilles early in Game 7. While the Pacers thrived on their depth and fast-paced play throughout the playoffs, they now face the challenge of moving forward without the two-time All-Star initiating their offense.
NBA Analysts on Next Steps for Pacers Following Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles Injury
Players’ recoveries from torn Achilles tendons typically range from nine to 12 months, meaning Haliburton could miss the entire 2025-26 regular season and postseason. In their Monday report, Aldridge, Amick and Taylor anticipated the injury being a death blow to Indiana’s hopes of contending in next year’s playoffs.
“But how can the Pacers overcome this? In the short term, it seems impossible,” the trio wrote. “The Pacers had been set up for a two- or three-year window with their core group, while many of their potential opponents in the East faced either significant injuries to key players or, in the case of the New York Knicks, the fallout from players after firing a popular coach.
“… But there’s no replacing Haliburton’s rare abilities and face-of-the-franchise qualities, even as Indiana’s front office, led by [Kevin] Pritchard and [Chad] Buchanan, built a championship-level franchise around him, despite never having a top-five pick.”
Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock. Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends? Makes no sense.
Now that I’ve gotten surgery, I wish I could count the… pic.twitter.com/UyY0iFEp6Z
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) June 24, 2025
Aldridge, Amick and Taylor noted that Haliburton and most of the Pacers’ core (Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin) are signed through at least the 2027-28 campaign. Meanwhile, Aaron Nesmith is under contract through the 2026-27 season.
However, they highlighted the franchise’s lack of free-agent appeal and longstanding reluctance to tank as factors that will hold it back from progressing with Haliburton sidelined.
“The Pacers are also a mid-market franchise. … They know that most free agents don’t flock to Indianapolis to set up shop,” the NBA insiders wrote. “Yet Indiana has refused to tank over the years, decade, as it fielded mostly good but rarely great teams.”
Aldridge, Amick and Taylor also pointed to Indiana’s looming decision about whether to potentially enter the luxury tax to retain its starting center, Myles Turner, in free agency.
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“The challenge now, in the wake of both Haliburton’s injury and a two-year run where Indiana has been a final four and final two franchise, is to see if this is sustainable, with or without the team’s superstar,” the analysts observed.
“Indiana has traditionally stayed shy of the luxury-tax line over the years; per Spotrac, the Pacers haven’t paid the tax since 2005, when they paid $4.67 million. But to re-sign free agent veteran center Myles Turner, who’s become one of the team’s key mainstays, Indiana will almost certainly have to be a taxpayer next season.”
Given the Pacers’ little wiggle room, the league insiders noted that they “will have to be even more precise with their drafts and trades.” The organization could also “apply for an injured player exception,” affording it the opportunity to “sign a free agent for half of Haliburton’s $45.5 million salary for next season.”
However, even if Indiana signs a stop-gap option at point guard, it will likely face difficulty amounting to more than a middle-of-the-pack squad battling for a low playoff seed.
