Tyrese Haliburton knew the risk of stepping onto the floor during the NBA Finals with a strained calf, but even after the worst-case scenario came true, he refuses to second-guess himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the Finals, man. I\u2019ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete. Help my teammates any way I can,\u201d Haliburton said before Game 6, per Logan Paul\u2019s Impaulsive podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n After aggravating the injury and suffering a torn Achilles early in Game 7, Haliburton admitted he had plenty of people urging him to stop before it reached that point. \u201cI had some close friends, family, and mentors in my life call me after Game 5 and say, \u2018Hey, shut it down,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When asked if he wished he had listened to that advice, Haliburton did not hesitate.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Hell no. Hell no. I\u2019ll be honest\u2014I called KD after I got my MRI after Game 5,\u201d Haliburton said. \u201cI said, \u2018Bro, do you regret playing in the game you tore [your Achilles]?\u2019 He said, \u2018No, not at all.\u2019 He said, \u2018You never\u2026\u2019 I was like, \u2018Alright.\u2019 Yeah, I wasn\u2019t going to switch anyway, so I\u2019m glad he said that,\u201d Haliburton told Impaulsive. \u201cIt made me feel a little bit better. But no, I don\u2019t regret it, bro.\u201d<\/p>\n The injury will sideline the 24-year-old guard for the entire 2025-26 season. \u201cIt would be 15 months from the injury before I\u2019d play in a game again,\u201d he explained, aligning with Indiana\u2019s public timeline.<\/p>\n Despite the devastating blow, Haliburton has kept a sense of humor. When asked about conspiracy theories claiming the NBA is rigged, he laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, the problem is, I play for the Indiana Pacers,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, if the NBA was going to rig the league, the last two teams they\u2019d probably rig it for would be the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.\u201d<\/p>\n