Tyrese Haliburton was surprised that the Indiana Pacers were scheduled to open the 2026-27 season on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans in his first game since tearing his Achilles.<\/p>\n
“Name any other person that you compare to my level of a basketball player, wherever you have me ranked, if they tore their Achilles and missed 16 months, do you think that [first game back] would be on national TV?” Haliburton said\u00a0during an appearance on the Numbers on the Board podcast (h\/t ESPN<\/a>). “Do you think that game would be at home if not on national television? Do you think that game would be at New Orleans?<\/p>\n “When I saw the schedule I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ I was shocked to see that. But we move on.”<\/p>\n Haliburton was sidelined for Indiana’s entire 2025-26 campaign after suffering a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, but he’s set to return<\/a> for the beginning of next season.<\/p>\n The Pacers struggled in his absence, as they’re coming off a 19-63 finish.<\/p>\n It’s understandable that Haliburton preferred to play his first game since the injury in front of his home fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse during a nationally-televised contest.<\/p>\n