Tyrese Haliburton's Indiana Pacers jersey began to sweat almost immediately as the two-time All-Star guard finally returned to an NBA game. For 16 months, Haliburton had waited on the sideline after tearing his right Achilles during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. On Oct. 7, he made his first appearance in the Pacers' preseason opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a moment that also served as a homecoming at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, his alma mater.
Haliburton's return was brief but meaningful. He played his first seven minutes of action in the first quarter, and he celebrated with a crossover into a 15-foot jumper for his first basket in more than a year. He finished with seven points and six assists in the Pacers' 123-112 win. "I was tired as hell," Haliburton said with a laugh after the game. "But even through that, I just kept feeling like, 'Man, I'm playing again.'"
The Pacers' path back to contention depends on Haliburton's health and performance. Last season, he delivered one of the greatest clutch postseason runs in NBA history, with a game-tying or winning shot in each of the four rounds of the 2025 playoffs. Indiana led Game 7 in Oklahoma City before his injury, and the Thunder went on to win. While Haliburton recovered, the Pacers managed just 19 wins during the 2025-26 season.
Indiana now enters the 2026-27 season as one of the league's most perplexing teams. Despite reaching the conference finals in both 2024 and 2025, the Pacers are projected to win a modest 42 games and rank 10th in the Eastern Conference, according to ESPN's Basketball Power Index. Haliburton shrugged off the outside doubt. "Our goal is to win a championship," he said. "That has never wavered."
Fonte: ESPN NBA · Resumido por HeadlinesBriefing