Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton ‘Chomping At The Bit’ To Return After 14 Months Away

Pacers training camp opens Sept. 29. Tyrese Haliburton has not played a game in 14 months. He spent Monday night at Victory Field, captaining a team at the Pacers Foundation Charity Softball Classic. The Indiana Pacers gathered as a team in Los Angeles last week and will convene again for camp next month. "Chomping at the bit. I can't wait. I'm really excited," Haliburton said. "Everybody always feels the summer is really long. Like, wow, I can't wait to get back. Well, I've had that for double, triple the amount of time everybody else has. So I can't wait to get back on the floor." "We were just together as a team in L.A. last week. We'll be together again for camp next month," Haliburton continued. "So we spend a lot of time together, which is nice. We have a lot of guys who stay here in the summer. We spend as much time as we can together. It's been fun for everyone." The tendon went on a non-contact drive in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Oklahoma City was tied 16-16. Haliburton had made three 3-pointers to that point. The Thunder won 103-91 and took the title. Surgery came the following day, and Pritchard ruled him out for the season on July 7, 2025. Indiana won 19 games without him. The 63 losses were a franchise record, and only one NBA team finished worse. Ivica Zubac came from the Los Angeles Clippers in February for Bennedict Mathurin and two first-round picks. One of those was Indiana's own 2026 first-rounder, protected on picks 1-4 and 10-30. It landed fifth in the lottery and went west. Zubac played five games for the Pacers before a season-ending injury. Zubac averaged 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds with the Clippers last season and made the All-Defensive Second Team the year before. He carries a $20.34 million salary and becomes extension-eligible Sept. 3. Indiana also signed Kelly Oubre Jr. this offseason. Pascal Siakam averaged 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists last season and made his fourth All-Star team. Andrew Nembhard started at point guard for most of the year, with T.J. McConnell behind him. In his last full season Haliburton played 73 games. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.2 assists, shot 47.3% from the field and 85.1% at the line, and made the All-NBA Third Team. He then averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 8.6 assists over 23 playoff games in Indiana's run to the Finals. Facial shingles, diagnosed Feb. 22, cost Haliburton time over the winter. He was up to full-court 4-on-4 against team interns and reserves by late January. Chris Haynes reported in July that Indiana expected to have him for Day 1. Haliburton said on Aug. 12 that he was ready to play if the season started then. Indiana opens Oct. 21 at New Orleans and hosts Dallas two nights later. Indiana's first meeting with the champion New York Knicks comes Nov. 13 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, in NBA Cup play.