Tyrese Haliburton scores 24 in first game since Achilles tear

Sixteen months after a torn Achilles tendon ended his night and the 2025 NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton returned to Paycom Center on Tuesday and immediately erased any lingering questions about his explosiveness. The Indiana Pacers guard scored 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting in just 17 first-half minutes during a 114-112 Oklahoma City Thunder overtime preseason victory.

Haliburton aggressively hunted his jump shot against Thunder defenders, including Cason Wallace, mirroring the offensive rhythm he established before collapsing in Game 7 of the championship series. He added three assists before sitting out the second half, a standard workload management protocol for players returning from major lower-body injuries during exhibition play.

Historically, a ruptured Achilles tendon served as a career-altering or career-ending diagnosis for NBA guards reliant on lateral quickness and burst. Dominique Wilkins famously defied expectations in 1992 by returning to average 28 points per game, but subsequent decades saw numerous players lose critical separation speed. Modern surgical techniques utilizing minimally invasive percutaneous repair, combined with advanced biomechanical load monitoring during rehabilitation, have significantly shortened recovery timelines and preserved athletic baselines over the last decade.

Indiana’s front office structured its entire offseason around that medical optimism. Rather than entering a transitional phase following their gap year, the Pacers pushed their competitive chips to the center of the table by trading the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NBA draft to acquire veteran center Ivica Zubac. That transaction signals an organization operating under a strict win-now mandate, betting that the core group from the 2025 Finals run can contend immediately upon Haliburton’s clearance for full regular-season minutes.

The Thunder, who won the 2025 title against that injured Pacers squad, offered genuine respect for the rehabilitation process required to reach this point. Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault acknowledged the severity of the timeline Haliburton navigated.

“Those injuries are devastating when they are that long-term,” Daigneault said. “You can gain an appreciation for all the dark days you have to go through where there’s seemingly no progress. It takes a long time. Hat tip to him for getting himself back.”

Daigneault noted that Haliburton looks “tremendous” physically, validating what the Pacers’ medical staff has observed throughout the summer. The Thunder skipper also referenced the broader context of Indiana’s 2025 postseason, describing their playoff run as incredible despite the abrupt ending in Oklahoma City.

Haliburton skipped the Pacers’ scheduled regular-season visit to OKC in January 2026 while still deep in his rehabilitation program, traveling separately from a roster frequently depleted by other injuries. His presence on the floor Tuesday represented the first time both teams shared a court since the championship concluded.

Indiana opens its 2026-27 regular season next week, where Haliburton’s minute restrictions will be reevaluated by the coaching staff based on his response to the preseason workload.