The Indiana Pacers' championship dreams in 2025 essentially went out the window after Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in the first quarter of Game 7. However, in the final episode of Season 2 of Starting 5 on Netflix, the Wisconsin native revealed his biggest regret that could have saved Indiana's title aspirations.
"We had the lead at halftime, and I think that my biggest regret from this whole situation is that I didn't talk to the guys at halftime. Like, I didn't give a speech," Haliburton said.
Despite Haliburton suffering the injury early in the game, Indiana remained afloat without him.
Heading into halftime, the Pacers were up 48-47 on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They had been counted out many times on their way to the NBA Finals, but the Pacers were continuing to remind the basketball world that their resilience and perseverance made their season so special. And if they were able to hang on to their lead, it would have led to their first NBA championship in franchise history.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, they were unable to pull off the upset, ultimately losing 103-91.
Because of this, it is fair for Haliburton to wonder how different things would have gone had he given the team a speech at halftime and riled them up. However, how much of a difference it would have made is a different story.
Indiana could have benefitted from a halftime Tyrese Haliburton moment
At the end of the day, nobody knows if Haliburton giving a speech at halftime would have affected the team the way he thought it could have. However, for him to say that he wishes he had done this likely means it would have made an impact one way or another. And there are reasons to believe him.
Following Indiana's Game 7 loss, forward Obi Toppin spoke about how difficult it was for him to find his rhythm after the Iowa State alum went down.
"We needed Ty out there … It sucked the soul out of us," Toppin said. "I ain't going to say out of everybody. But I don't feel like I played good because I was thinking about it the whole day, and I felt like it was my fault."
#Pacers forward Obi Toppin on Tyrese Haliburton's injury:
— WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) June 23, 2025
"We needed Ty out there... It sucked the soul out of us. I ain't going to say out of everybody. But I don't feel like I played good because I was thinking about it the whole day and I felt like it was my fault." pic.twitter.com/yvlMzL0bMy
In theory, had Haliburton talked to his teammates at halftime, it could have given them some sort of comfort during what was unquestionably a hard time for them.
Regardless, this is just another "what-if" Haliburton and the Pacers will have to live through, but it's not entirely fair. Of course, his injury was a devastating blow to the team, and it is fair to wonder if they would have won it all had it not happened.
However, it's not like the team lost because Haliburton didn't give them a speech at halftime.
The Thunder were the best team in the NBA for pretty much the entire season, and it was going to be tough for anybody to take them out. Indiana was close to doing it, but that doesn't mean it was going to happen even if Haliburton hadn't gone down.
It's easy to point out the "what-ifs" that go in the Pacers' favor in Game 7, but there are some that go in the opposite direction as well.
What if the Pacers lost anyway, regardless of Haliburton's status? What if the 25-year-old cooled off after his red-hot start (which may have been inevitable against a historic defense like Oklahoma City's)? Or, what if Haliburton kept it up, but the rest of the team failed to deliver anyway, or they were just outmatched the rest of the way?
Ultimately, fans will never know, and that's just the unfortunate reality of the situation.
Haliburton's speech absolutely could have given the Pacers the spark they needed to win it all following his injury. However, at the same time, there's also a chance that it made no difference.
On a brighter note, the future is still bright in Indiana, and the team should be able to re-establish itself as a title contender once its star guard returns. And, who knows, maybe the Pacers will have a chance to exact their revenge and win it all sooner rather than later.