Just a few years ago, Indiana Pacers fans watched in horror as Tyrese Haliburton lay sprawled out on the court of Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. As we all know, Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon and would spend nearly 400 days away from the game before finally making his return to start this season.
While Haliburton clearly had the longest and most difficult road back, Pacers fans themselves suffered through a miserable Gap year with only the hope that their star would return and the knowledge that they were capable of winning a championship if he did.
Because it cost the Pacers a championship, fans of Indiana's basketball team have also become haters of the Thunder. So is the nature of sports.
However, the Thunder have now lost Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace to relatively devastating injuries – in Williams' case, it looked career-altering for a player who was a number two option for a title-winning team in just his third year.
Instead of laughing at a team that is suffering or making light of the careers of two decent twenty-something-year-old people, Pacers fans should take the high road and extend a hand of empathy, not because that's what they received a year ago, but because they know how hard it can be to watch something like this unfold.
Heartbreak Hoosiers (bear with me)
If there's one thing the Pacers are known for, it's building a great core and then falling just a little bit short. Reggie Miller was never able to evolve beyond the team's second-best hump. Paul George got close, but ultimately saw his trust in the team decay in the same way the roster did.
Every one of their stars, from Victor Oladipo to Danny Granger, has been ripped from Pacers fans while they mourn the same question sports fans have been obsessed with for decades:
What if?
The Pacers have not won an NBA title yet, even if they had multiple ABA titles before the merger with the NBL. They have an incredibly strong team this year, but it's still uncertain if the team can get back to the level they were at in the 2024-25 playoffs.
No one really knows if the basketball gods are real, or if kindness from fanbases actually translates to karma. Heck, Sacramento Kings fans are hilarious and typically nice, and the last good thing to happen to that team was losing in the first round as a top seed.
Still, should that matter? Indiana being known as the team that cares for the people beneath the lights would be a wonderful change in reputation.
If that convinces the fates to stop ripping stars from the Pacers, it'd be a worthwhile investment.
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