The Indiana Pacers and their fans had their hearts ripped out in the opening minutes of Game 7 of the NBA Finals when superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton went down with a torn Achilles, ending his 2025-26 season before it could have even gotten started.
The Pacers were beating the Oklahoma City Thunder when Haliburton went down, and his injury immedialy became one of the biggest "what ifs" in league history. If he was healthy, could the Pacers have stolen their first NBA championship in franchise history?
Time and time again, Haliburton has made it clear that he has no regrets. He was playing through a calf strain, which increased the risk of injury, but he insists that playing in Game 7 was the right thing to do.
In hindsight, not everyone agrees with him.
“How do you tell a kid you can’t play in Game 7 after you played in Game 6 and didn’t [get hurt]?" asked team president Kevin Pritchard. "He’s told me many times, and this just shows you what kind of kid he is, ‘I would do it over and over.’ And if you’re asking me if I would have him do it over and over? I would not."
Of course, Pritchard is only saying that with the benefit of knowing what happened in Game 7. If the Pacers lost with a healthy Haliburton, there would be no question, and if they had managed to build a big enough lead before the injury and hold on to win, Pritchard might be singing a different tune.
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