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Text of Haliburton's statement:

Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock. Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends? Makes no sense.

Now that I’ve gotten surgery, I wish I could count the number of times people will tell me I’m going to “come back stronger”. What a cliche lol, this shit sucks. My foot feels like dead weight fam. But what’s hurting most I think is my mind. Feel like I’m rambling, but I know this is something I’ll look back on when I’m through this, as something I’m proud I fought through. It feels good to let this shit out without y’all seeing the kid ugly cry.

At 25, I’ve already learned that God never gives us more than we can handle. I know I’ll come out on the other side of this a better man and a better player. And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don’t regret it. I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. For the chance to do something special.

Indy, I’m sorry. If any fan base doesn’t deserve this, it’s y’all. But together we are going to fight like hell to get back to this very spot, and get over this hurdle. I don’t doubt for a second that y’all have my back, and I hope you guys know that I have yours. I think Kobe said it best when in this same situation. “There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.” And that’s exactly right. I will do everything in my power to get back right.

My journey to get to where I am today wasn’t by happenstance, I’ve pushed myself every day to be great. And I will continue to do just that. The most important part of this all, is that I’m grateful. I’m grateful for every single experience that’s led me here. I’m grateful for all the love from the hoop world. I don’t “have to” go through this, I get to go through this. I’m grateful for the road that lies ahead. Watch how I come back from this. So, give me some time, I’ll dust myself off and get right back to being the best version of Tyrese Haliburton.

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Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

41 comments

  2. look im not saying there is no god but if there is hes not a pacers fan

  3. My heart breaks for this dude… glad that he is trying to find the silver lining. As cliche as it is, hope he comes out stronger and better. Prayers for Hali 🙏🏼

  5. He’s young and Achilles surgeries have gotten very advanced recently. Not a death knell for his career or Indiana’s by any means. He’ll be back

  7. Really appreciate the realness here from him. Not some generic “I’ll be back stronger” message. Emotions clearly all over the place obviously, but still able to keep perspective on everything.

  8. This is one of the best speeches I’ve ever seen written from an NBA player. He deserves the world.

  10. This is how you win fans all around the world with sincerity and authenticity. ChatGPT is the nail in the coffin for all that meaningless PR-speak; no one wants to read that junk.

    He’s candid like KD, but without the resentments. He has beliefs, but directs it inward, like he should.

    Guess all that good-natured self-own about being the 12th man on the Olympics squad wasn’t just a flash after all.

  11. hali is just so cool man idk what it is about him but ive really come to taking a liking to him in the past year

  13. He can really deep dive in to some skills training. His fucking shot is gonna be water after a year of not playing and just shooting.

  14. He still has plenty of career left, but he’ll always be an Indy legend to me

  19. This NBA Finals felt like I watched tragedy. I don’t ever remember feeling that terrible at the end of a season in any sport before.

  22. This was my most fun season as a Pacer fan, and I became one when Reggie Miller was on the team

    He doesn’t owe us, we owe him

  26. God, I’m not even an Indy fan but I hope to hell that they win a trophy when he gets back. I was comparing him to Johnny Appleseed all playoffs, little did I know he was actually John Henry.

  27. Man what’s with many of the Pacers’ cornerstones since Reggie and them suffering career altering injuries ???

    Granger with knee issues
    George with the broken leg
    Oladipo with the quad
    now Tyrese with the Achilles

    It’s heartbreaking. Indiana deserves better ngl…

  28. One of the best post-injury speeches I’ve ever read. Hali seems like an incredible human.

    If the NBA is looking for a new face of the league, Hali just might eventually be it

  29. I will respectfully root against him when he plays against the Knicks. Any other instance, I’m rooting for him.

    I hope he makes a full recovery and gets to have a long and productive career. Really hope we get to see him go off in the Finals again and win it all.

  30. Proud to be a Pacer fan and feel very fortunate to have Ty in our team. He’s right, this shit sucks. But I believe fully he’ll be back and as good as ever.

  31. No need to apologize, hali! You won the hearts of so many non-Indy fans.

    You’re a fucking stud and I hope you’ll be back soon. Stronger. Faster. Winninger!

  32. Between how gracefully he handled riding the bench in the Olympics and now this, he has really won me over as a fan

  33. From having no play time in the olympics and not complaining, then the overrated nonsense into his playoff run and giving OKC all they want is crazy. Truly wish him all the best, I’m a hali fan for life now

  34. One more time for all the sleazeballs who were claiming the calf injury was theater: Fuck you.

  35. I’m gonna be very emotional during his comeback game. Proud to root for this guy!

  37. the pacers are by FAR my favorite team in the east . it ain’t close

  38. If indy comes back in a couple years and wins it all spearheaded by Haliburton, it’ll truly be one of the best storylines in the history of the sport imo.

  39. It breaks my heart that all the players are apologizing. They don’t need to be sorry for anything. I’m so proud of these guys.

  40. This is the most devastating injury to a player that I can remember. Game 7 of the Finals, the last game of the season, with the championship on the line. The highs of hitting three threes on the road to force a timeout, followed by the lowest of lows, tearing your Achilles and having to watch your team lose, with nothing you can do.

    He doesn’t deserve this. I truly hope he gets another shot at the trophy after everything he’s been through. He’s made a fan out of me that’s for sure. I’ll be rooting for him his entire career.

  41. Dude apologized for going out on his sword…and said he’d do it again and again.

    Then acknowledges the privilege his status provides.

    To me, this is the stuff of legend. Pacers fans were ready to walk through a wall for him before, might elevate him to Peyton Manning status if he gets a chip.

    The look on his face was brutal when it happened and he comes back 1.5 days later ready to go to work after surgery.

    Make room, hooper coming through

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