INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton had to laugh when a report citing anonymous sources said the Pacers expected him to be cleared for the 2026-27 season opener which will be nearly 16 months from his surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
Frankly, the All-Star point guard didn’t think there was any mystery there. The eventuality that he was going to miss the entire 2025-26 season but be ready for 2026-27 always seemed to be pretty cut-and-dry.
“I am the the source,” Haliburton said Tuesday during a media availability meant to discuss his headlining of the Pacers Foundation Charity Softball Classic. “I am telling you I’m going to be healthy right now. I feel great. I’m doing everything. I’m playing pick-up pretty regularly at this point. I feel great. I will be ready for the season. If the season was today, I’d be ready.”
Later in the discussion, Haliburton again acknowledged that “ready” is a relative term. He has been effectively medically “cleared” to play, but as he said during an interview in June “there’s a difference between being in NBA shape and Tyrese Haliburton shape.” He knows, for one thing, that it will take a while to get used to the pace of play in NBA games and the conditioning required to get through them.
“It’s hard to tell,” Haliburton said. “I think any NBA player would tell you that before that first media timeout, that wind is different. It’s just just impossible to prepare for. It doesn’t matter how much I prepare. That first stint is going to be exhausting for everybody. I know I’ll feel good going into the year. Game shape is what you’re able to explore in the preseason. Coach (Rick) Carlisle does a great job as the preseason goes along. Our minutes come closer to mirroring our game minutes. For me it’s just being in the best shape I can. I feel really good right now. I’m going to continue to do that. My goal is just to be ready go for camp.”
Beyond conditioning, Haliburton also feels good about his level of athletic explosion. The Pacers posted video of him throwing down a between-the-legs dunk, something he said he hasn’t been able to achieve since he was 20 years old and something he said he missed several times before actually completing. He said he likes the speed with which he’s playing but acknowledged he’s mostly working with player development interns and even though they’re better players than most might realize, it’s still not the same as facing off with NBA players.
“I love our interns and our player development team to death, but it’s not simulating playing against an NBA guy all the time,” Haliburton said. “I’ll be going to (Los Angeles) here pretty soon, and being able to play in runs with different NBA guys. I know us as a group will be getting together here pretty soon.”
Haliburton said it has helped that teammate Andrew Nembhard has spent more time in Indianapolis and that’s made sure he’s had a challenging defender to work against. It’s helped that he’s added upper body muscle which can help him as a scorer, playmaker and a defender even if he’s not playing his fastest.
“For me defensively, typically I guard the guys who are off-ball,” Haliburton said. “The offensive rebounders, being able to box out. Offensively, my defenders are usually bigger. They’re usually wing defenders. Just being able to get guys off. Being able to use my physicality a little bit more. I feel like in the past in my career — and this will probably continue a little bit — I’ve typically been a guy who will use my speed to avoid contact as much as I can. I don’t think that’s going to go away because I think that’s a part of who I am. But just being able to embrace (contact) a little bit more, being able to slow down a little bit, which I think will be good. Being stronger will only help that.”
He does know that there are still struggles to come. He said he does hope there aren’t many cameras at the pick-up games in Los Angeles because he’s not sure how well those will go for him. However, he also said he’s not bothered by the struggles he knows are still coming.
“I look forward to the bad days a lot these days,” Haliburton said. “I know that won’t live forever and I know it’s all part of the process.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘If the season was today, I’d be ready’: Tyrese Haliburton says he’s cleared
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
