The NBA world sends their prayers for Tyrese Haliburton as the Pacers star went down in pain during the first quarter of the most important game in an NBA season, Game 7 of the championship series. Haliburton had previously suffered a calf strain, which was a major cause of concern coming into this game. He now seems to have aggravated that strain, the result of which was an Achilles injury.
Prayers up for Tyrese Haliburton. 🙏
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 23, 2025
His father, John Haliburton, was in tears in the crowd after he saw what happened to his son. LeBron James and other NBA players, among all spectators, felt the agony of the Pacers’ star as he went down screaming. They took to social media to send their prayers to Tyrese Haliburton.
“The whole hoop community felt that one,” wrote Patrick Beverley on X.
“Them calf strains are nothing to play with. The next thing if not healed right is always Achilles. Man I feel bad for bro!!,” wrote former NBA player Isaiah Thomas.
“These calf strains ain’t no joke man!! Praying for Ty,” wrote Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell on X.
These calf strains ain’t no joke man!! Praying for Ty 🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) June 23, 2025
“Ty [Multiple prayer emojis],” wrote Knicks’ star Josh Hart.
Ty 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) June 23, 2025
“F**K!!!!!!!!,” wrote Lakers star LeBron James moments after Pacers star went down in the first quarter. James and Haliburton grew close as teammates during their stint in the Olympics last summer.
“Prayers up, man,” wrote Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
“You never want to see that, prayers up,” said Karl-Anthony Towns on X.
“Omg!” said his former Kings teammate De’Aaron Fox.
What Did This Mean For The Pacers?
Losing your star point guard in the most important game of the season is back-breaking for any team on even a good day. Haliburton’s injury was confirmed to be an Achilles injury, one of the hardest injuries to come back from for a basketball player.
But the Pacers were resilient; they planned to play with the next-man-up mentality. TJ McConnell provided the spark from the bench and scored 12 points in the third quarter alone as the Pacers battled to stay within fighting distance of the Thunder, who seemed to be on a run of threes of their own.
The Pacers shifted their focus to finding other ways to generate offense through key players like Pascal Siakam, despite eight players averaging double-digit scoring in the Finals. Down 13 at the end of the third quarter, can they find a way to rally back from a double-digit deficit one last time this season?
