Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark are both sidelined by injuries, but the two have leaned on each other during their recovery.
Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals in June and is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season. He averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 73 games last season and 17.3 points, 8.6 assists, and 5.3 rebounds in 23 playoff games.
Clark has missed 14 consecutive games with a right groin strain and a bone bruise in her left ankle. Her status remains day-to-day, with no set timetable for a return before the Fever's season ends Sept. 11. In 13 games this year, she has averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds.
At his youth basketball camp last weekend, Haliburton moved around in a walking boot and said the early stages of his recovery have been about appreciating "small wins."
"I'm walking now on my boot," Haliburton said, via WISH-TV. "Getting closer to walking full time in my shoe, so that's exciting for me. Every couple weeks it's kind of like a new benchmark, a new achievement for me, so just being able to walk, it's like the small wins right now. It's taking it a day at a time. I have good days, bad days. But yeah, things are going well."
The Pacers have ruled him out for the season to prioritize a full recovery.
"It's just about getting 100%, not necessarily as fast as I can, but getting 100% is important," Haliburton said. "I don't want to come back and be 85, 90%, I want to be able to come back at 100%."
Clark, who set the WNBA single-season assists record earlier this year, has been frustrated by the stop-and-go process.
Fever coach Stephanie White said the focus remains on "long-term health and getting her back to 100% before we put her back on the floor."
Haliburton said the pair's friendship has helped during the downtime.
"It's been important just to have somebody to lean on and talk to," he said. "I think we've grown the relationship to where we can talk about more than just basketball. Obviously, we connect a lot through basketball. We get guarded the same sometimes. Our offensive issues, our defensive issues - they're similar.
"So it sucks that she's been hurt for as long as she has, but for us to be able to communicate, even in her recovery, has been great," he explained. "We lift at the same time, so it's just us two in the weight room, and we spend a lot of time together. I guess it's a good thing, but I wish she was playing. Still, it's good to have each other to lean on in a time like this."
Both have spoken about wanting to spend their careers in Indiana, embracing the state's basketball tradition.
White previously said their connection has become a rallying point for fans.
"The passion that Tyrese and Caitlin play with really epitomizes the pride of basketball in Indiana," White said. "Their shared experiences have helped both their games and their teams grow."
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