The Indiana Pacers are going to be trying to get back in the title race next year after struggling this past season. Tyrese Haliburton ruptured his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, and without him, Indy was one of the worst teams in the league. Luckily for Pacers fans, Haliburton just said that he’s healthy again, which puts them in a great position to make another deep run.
Haliburton says that after recovering from his Achilles rupture and dealing with Shingles, he’s in a great spot. "I feel great," Haliburton said via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. "Shingles is mostly beyond me now. I've lost the weight. I feel great. This is the best I've felt in a long time."
If Indy wants to make a run at a championship this year, it needs a fully healthy Haliburton. And it sounds like that’s what it’s getting.
A healthy Tyrese Haliburton puts the Pacers in the title race
Haliburton was the driving force of the Pacers’ run to the 2025 NBA Finals. His playoff magic led them to three straight series wins and nearly a fourth, before everything fell apart.
He’s endured a long, endless recovery process. One that included dealing with Shingles and the weight gain that came along with it. But based on the sound of things, that’s no longer an issue.
Obviously, Haliburton will have to get back up to game speed. He’ll have to get used to playing in real NBA games again after missing an entire season of NBA action.
But that’s okay. Indy wasn’t a great regular-season team in 2025, but they still went to the Finals. The most important thing is that Haliburton is healthy, and it sounds like that’s the case.
Without Haliburton, the Pacers have no chance of making the Finals. If nothing else, this past year proved that. Without Haliburton, they went from a Finals team to one of the worst squads in the NBA.
Haliburton being healthy puts them back in the mix in the Eastern Conference. Once the playoffs come around, all bets are off, and Haliburton is someone you definitely want on your team in a playoff game.
His health completely defines the ceiling of what the Pacers could be next season. If he’s in as good a spot as he says he is, then there’s no reason Indy can’t be a legit threat in the East.
This is the exact sort of message the Pacers – and their fans – needed to hear before next season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google