Westfield – Indiana Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton admitted that he is taking small steps forward in his recovery from an Achilles injury.
Very small steps.
“I’m walking now in my boot,” Haliburton said on Aug 23 while speaking to reporters at the Simple Truth Tyrese Haliburton Pro Camp in Westfield, Indiana.
“Getting closer to walking full time in my shoe. So, that’s exciting for me. It’s kind of like a new benchmark, a new achievement for me...
“Just being able to walk, it’s like the small wins right now. Just taking it a day at a time. I have good days, bad days.”
Haliburton, 25, will miss the upcoming 2025-26 season after sustaining the injury in Game 7 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals defeat by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I obviously want to be good tomorrow but I know it takes time,” Haliburton said. “The team has already ruled me out for the year, so I’m in no rush.
“It’s just about getting 100 per cent, not necessarily as fast as I can, but getting 100 per cent is important. I don’t want to come back and be 85, 90 percent.
“I want to be able to come back at 100, so I’m just taking my time through that.”
Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 73 games (all starts) last season and was selected All-NBA third team.
A two-time All-Star, Haliburton has career averages of 17.5 points, 8.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 333 games (294 starts) for the Sacramento Kings (2020-22) and Pacers.
Meanwhile, former Seattle SuperSonics NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp will spend 30 days under electronic home monitoring and must perform 240 hours of community service after pleading guilty to charges in a 2023 case.
Kemp pleaded guilty in May to one count of second-degree assault in relation to a shooting incident outside a Tacoma, Washington, mall in March 2023. He was sentenced on Aug 22.
Prosecutors had asked for nine months of jail plus a year of community custody, which is similar to probation. The community custody was granted, and the community service must be done in that year.
Kemp admitted to firing at two men in a Toyota 4Runner after his cell phone, sports memorabilia and other belongings were stolen from his truck. He traced his phone to the Toyota 4Runner and he said he was fired on by an occupant and shot at the vehicle in self-defense.
“I should have used better discretion,” Kemp, 55, said in court on Aug 22 in Pierce County, Wash.
He told reporters outside the courtroom that he looks forward to going into the community and advocating for gun safety. He also said he should have called police instead of taking the law into his own hands.
“A simple call to cops probably could have handled this.”
No one was injured in the incident. Prosecutors said they could trace four shots fired by Kemp, with three of them hitting the 4Runner and the fourth striking another vehicle.
He had no previous criminal history. REUTERS
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