Let’s be real — nobody had the Pacers penciled in for the Finals last season. Most folks figured they’d be a fun League Pass team, maybe flirt with the Play-In if things broke right. 

By the time June rolled around, Indiana had become the NBA’s most lovable underdog — running the floor like their shoes were on fire, bombing threes, and yanking wins from their opponents' grasp. They erased a seven-point deficit in Milwaukee with less than a minute to go. They came back from 14 down in the Garden while the crowd was prematurely singing "New York, New York." It felt like every other night they were pulling off another miracle — and right in the middle of it all was Tyrese Haliburton, putting up one clutch performance after another.

And it wasn’t just about getting there. They didn’t sneak into the Finals — they pushed the No. 1 seed Thunder to the brink. It got to the point where advanced stat nerds like myself had to double-check the math. This was a movie… that quickly turned into a horror film for Pacers fans.

The Pacers' Walking Cheat Code in Crunch Time

There was no one in the league more reliable in crunch time last season than Tyrese Haliburton. When the pressure spiked and the scoreboard tightened, he got better. Way better.

For starters, the guy went 13-for-15 on go-ahead or tying shots in the final two minutes all season. That’s not just great — it’s statistically absurd. Most players would be thrilled to hit 50% in those spots. Haliburton hit nearly 87%. And when the clock dipped under five seconds? He delivered four game-winners. Four.

His clutch performances weren’t one-offs, either. In Game 5 against Milwaukee, the Pacers erased a seven-point hole in under a minute, and he capped it with a game-saving dunk, then sealed it in OT with a bucket and a steal. In Game 2 of the next round against Cleveland, the Pacers found themselves down seven with under a minute left and Haliburton worked his magic again. Every time the game teetered, Haliburton steadied it. In Game 1 of the Finals, he did it again; draining a deep two with 0.3 seconds left on the clock and giving the Pacers a 1-0 lead.

The analytics backed it all up, too. Haliburton’s Clutch Win Probability Added (WPA) for the postseason landed at 2.54 — the highest in the play-by-play era (since 1997). He wasn’t just getting his; he was impacting everything. He defended, rebounded, made the right passes, and rarely turned it over. In a postseason filled with late-game madness, Haliburton was the calm in every storm. You could argue he was the most impactful playoff closer we've seen since peak Dirk or LeBron.

And the wildest part? Despite all that brilliance, we never got to see how the story ends. His run felt destined for something iconic. Instead, it stopped seven minutes into Game 7. But for that wild, improbable stretch of playoff basketball, Tyrese Haliburton was the moment.

Game 7 — Where Glory Met Biology

The Calf Warning Everyone Tried to Downplay

Two nights earlier in Game 5, Haliburton came up limping after what looked like a pretty standard drive. It didn’t seem catastrophic in the moment — just one of those minor tweaks you try to shake off. But it stuck. Postgame, the team called it a calf strain. Behind closed doors, MRIs were done, specialists were called, and — especially after seeing what had happened with Damian Lillards calf strain — it was impossible not to worry.

The medical staff consulted with renowned surgeon Dr. Martin O’Malley, who gave the green light. He told the team that while there was some risk, a full-blown Achilles rupture was a "low probability" outcome. And when Haliburton went out in Game 6 and dropped 14 points with nine assists in just 23 minutes — moving a little gingerly, sure, but still clearly controlling the game — it felt like confirmation. The guy was toughing it out, and more importantly, he could still play at a high level.

Inside that locker room, the idea of him sitting out Game 7 just didn’t compute. This was the biggest Pacers game in a generation — the kind of stage you dream of. Haliburton felt like he owed it to his teammates. The staff trusted the medical data. And President Kevin Pritchard, who later admitted he wrestled with the decision, made the call: if Tyrese wanted to suit up, they wouldn’t stand in his way.

Seven Minutes That Rewrote a Franchise Timeline

Game 7 tipped off with all the emotion you’d expect from a winner-take-all Finals matchup. And Indiana came out swinging. Haliburton, despite everything his leg had been through, looked like a man on a mission. He drilled three triples in the opening minutes, moving fluidly enough to convince even the skeptics that he could power through.

Then, just like that, the entire season shifted. On a routine plant, his right leg buckled. There was no contact, no awkward landing, no dramatic twist. Just a sudden give. He collapsed to the floor, slapped it in pain, and the air got sucked out of the building. You could tell immediately—this wasn’t cramps or tightness.

Without him, the Pacers still scrapped. They hung around in the first half, leaning on guys like Siakam and Mathurin to keep the ship afloat. But momentum had left the building. The Thunder took over in the second half and closed the door with a 103–91 win to capture their first title.

After the final buzzer, you could see it in the players’ eyes — they were stunned. Shell-shocked. The whole league was, really. The Pacers had gone from feel-good story to gut-punch tragedy in an instant.

Not Rushing Recovery

The Pacers have made it official: Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire 2025–26 season. Team president Kevin Pritchard said there’s zero intention of rushing the recovery, making it clear that Haliburton’s long-term health outweighs any short-term hope.

I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever. The surgery went well... He will not play next year though. We would not jeopardize that now. So don’t get any hopes up that he will play.

Plans Change Fast: Indiana's Offseason Gets Rerouted

Luxury‑Tax Swagger Turns Into Wallet‑Checking

Two weeks before Haliburton’s Achilles gave out, Pacers owner Herb Simon was all-in. Word around the league was that Indiana was ready to spend. There was real talk that the front office had a green light to go deep into the luxury tax if that’s what it took to keep the core intact — especially to retain longtime anchor Myles Turner, who’d just wrapped his tenth season with the franchise.

But then came Game 7. Haliburton goes down, and everything shifts.

Without their offensive engine for the entire next season, the Pacers suddenly weren’t a win-now team anymore. That changed everything. What looked like a “spend to contend” offseason became a tightrope walk between staying competitive and preserving cap flexibility.

Enter the Milwaukee Bucks. They came knocking with a strong four-year, $107 million offer for Turner. To make room, Milwaukee went so far as to waive Damian Lillard — yes, seriously — to bring Turner in. Meanwhile, Indiana chose the fiscally conservative path. Kevin Pritchard later admitted he was surprised to lose Turner.

Patchwork at Center — and Another Roll of the Dice on Wiseman

Pritchard didn’t have the same blank-check freedom he was expecting heading into the offseason, so he shifted gears quickly. With Myles Turner gone and no Tyrese for the upcoming season, the Pacers went bargain-hunting — not in a tanking way, but more like calculated darts at high-upside pieces. They flipped a couple of second-rounders to take a swing on Jay Huff, a 7'1" big who quietly shot 40% from three in Memphis and offers a bit of rim protection with floor spacing.

They also brought back James Wiseman on a short-term, low-risk deal. Yes, Wiseman is coming off a torn Achilles of his own — which somehow isn’t even the most surprising part of the signing. That probably belongs to the fact that Indiana now has multiple centers in various stages of Achilles rehab. Add in Isaiah Jackson, another athletic big who was making strides before his injury, and suddenly the training staff’s summer got a whole lot busier.

You get the sense Pritchard is hoping one of those guys — Huff, Wiseman, or Jackson — pops in a meaningful way. Maybe not replacing Turner’s production directly, but at least patching together enough minutes to hold things down until the team is fully healthy again.

The Point‑Guard Plan: Nembhard, McConnell, and a Rookie Wild Card

Replacing Haliburton’s brain is impossible, so Indiana’s leaning into a committee approach at point guard. Andrew Nembhard is the guy likely stepping into the starting role, and while he’s not Tyrese, he’s no slouch either. The second-year guard showed serious polish last season when Haliburton was sidelined — he averaged 6.6 assists per game as the lead playmaker and rarely looked rattled.

T.J. McConnell stays locked in as the veteran heartbeat off the bench. You know what you’re getting with him: full-court pressure, smart passes, and those sneaky inbounds steals that flip a quarter in an instant. Carlisle knows he can trust him to set the tone whenever the game needs a jolt.

But maybe the most intriguing name in this guard group is rookie Kam Jones. A late second-rounder out of Marquette, Jones brings scoring instincts and confidence. He averaged 19 points and nearly 6 assists per game in college with a tidy 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. There’s a real opportunity here for him to step into meaningful minutes — and if he clicks, he could be a spark plug in a backcourt that suddenly has minutes to offer.

Pascal Siakam & The Wings: More Playmaking, More Burden

With Haliburton sidelined, Pascal Siakam steps into a bigger leadership role — not just as a scorer, but as a facilitator. It’s not totally foreign territory for him; back in Toronto, he was the engine behind their offense when Fred VanVleet sat. He’s comfortable initiating from the elbows, backing down smaller defenders, and making quick reads off dribble handoffs or short rolls. That’s going to be the starting point for Indiana’s offense more often than not this season.

Expect a lot of touches for Siakam at the top of the key or extended elbow, with shooters like Bennedict Mathurin and Aaron Nesmith circling around him. Mathurin, in particular, will likely be leaned on to make a real leap — not just as a scorer, but as a guy who can attack closeouts, draw fouls, and occasionally create. Nesmith will continue to stretch the floor and guard wings, but if he can add a little more off-the-dribble punch, it’ll help keep things moving.

What Does a “Transition Year” Even Look Like?

Vegas didn’t waste any time reacting to Haliburton’s injury — his absence dropped the Pacers’ projected win total from 52.5 to 36.5 overnight. National power rankings followed suit, slotting Indiana deep into the league’s bottom third. And look, that’s probably a fair expectation on paper. Even the most optimistic folks inside the building know this season is more about growth than glory. It’s a year to try things out, get younger guys reps, and just keep the locker room together until Haliburton returns.

But don’t confuse development mode with waving the white flag. There’s still plenty of competitive fire in this group. Pascal Siakam may be past 30, but he didn’t re-sign to cruise through a gap year. Andrew Nembhard is hungry to prove he can be more than just a steady backup and Bennedict Mathurin isn't shy about wanting to be an All-Star sooner than later. Then there’s Rick Carlisle, one of the smartest tacticians in the league. With a full training camp and time to reset, he’ll have a chance to work with the group and figure out what works best. 

Defensively, they should be just fine. Jay Huff gives them rim protection, Siakam can guard multiple spots, and there’s enough athleticism on the wings to bother teams. The offense will undoubtedly take a step back without Haliburton’s brain running the show, but there’s still spacing and shooting across the roster. If a few of the younger pieces hit, a sneaky Play-In push isn’t off the table.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.