On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder finally finished business, beating the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It was a huge accomplishment for a team that seemed destined to be crowned throughout the regular season. Unfortunately, this accomplishment was marred by what happened toward the end of the first quarter.
After a ridiculous playoff run where he seemed always to show up when his team needed him, Tyrese Haliburton started Game 7 much the same, draining three 3-point shots to quickly apply pressure to OKC’s defense. Then, with just under five minutes left in the first quarter, the worst-case scenario reared its ugly head — on a simple step move off an inbound, Haliburton went down in a heap and agonizingly started slamming his hand against the court. Though all anyone could do was speculate at that point, it was quite obvious what happened: Haliburton had torn his Achilles, which became even more obvious after the replay in which you can see his calf violently vibrate before he stumbled to the floor.
Not only did the injury eliminate Haliburton — arguably the Pacers’ best and most influential player — from the equation for Game 7, but it has cast doubt on when (or even if) the guard will be able to play next season. It has also brought the NBA under scrutiny, as this devastating injury has become more commonplace than it should.
Tyrese Haliburton Is Only The Latest Player To Fall Victim, And NBA Fans Aren’t Happy
Haliburton’s injury didn’t seem to be a thing of chance or dumb luck, at least, not completely. Around Game 5, the Pacers guard was nursing a strained calf. While a strained calf hasn’t been linked to an increased chance of tearing an Achilles, I — somebody with no medical background whatsoever — can’t imagine it helps. A strained calf is a very uncomfortable injury and will inevitably cause you to overcompensate. And overcompensation is where injuries happen. Maybe not a torn Achilles specifically, but certainly other things. Regardless of anything, it’s simply obvious that something is going on.
Going into Game 7 of the NBA Finals, five players had already torn their Achilles tendons in just this season alone. The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum was the most recent example, tearing his during the second round of the playoffs against the New York Knicks just weeks ago. Prior to that, Damian Lillard, Dejounte Murray, Isaiah Jackson, and Dru Smith had all fallen to the dreaded Achilles injury. In turn, NBA fans have become concerned.
Tyrese Haliburton Torn Achilles at 25
— 𝓜𝓪𝓶𝓫𝓪
Jayson Tatum Torn Achilles at 27
The NBA needs to shorten the season, These dudes arent even in their 30's and they're getting these career threatening injuries pic.twitter.com/i1aJeJOlhn(@HoodiiMamba) June 23, 2025
The first thing some fans have pointed to is the workload modern NBA players are under. While the NBA season has remained at the standard 82 games for decades at this point, the playoffs have received an extension as recent as 2020 with the Play-In Tournament, and the league currently does the FA Cup-styled NBA Cup midseason, something that’s only been a thing since 2023. Of course, I’m not sure any argument about the number of games players are participating in will have any kind of hard correlation. But it’s a talking point nonetheless.
Haliburton Risked It All For Greatness, But The Cost Was Great
While the cause and predetermining factors behind what can lead to an Achilles tear seems to be very much under debate, one thing isn’t: Tyrese Haliburton was hurt, but decided to play anyway. And when you’re hurt, you run the risk of making it worse. And trust me, I get it. As a fellow person with a competitive spirit, I totally understand why athletes push themselves beyond their limits. It’s where greatness is proven — MJ’s flu game, Emmett Smith playing with a separated shoulder to guarantee the Cowboys’ division win…
Tyrese didn’t want his team’s fate to be on any other terms than his own, and he played through the pain. Unfortunately, in the process, he sustained an injury that not only ended his game but could prematurely end his season next year, and could even reverberate throughout his entire career. And, at some point, NBA teams will have to start doing something to protect players from themselves.
Again, I completely understand that these are all grown adults and they’ll do whatever they deem necessary to achieve their goals, even at their own peril. But eventually, when the risks are too high, NBA coaches, front offices, and medical teams will have to start putting their foot down. Because yeah, a Game 6 and 7 without Haliburton would’ve likely cost the Pacers the Finals this year against the Thunder. But they had still built an extremely good team that could challenge in the future. With Tyrese’s immediate future now in serious jeopardy, those NBA Title aspirations for Indiana can be equally as tenuous.
Will NBA 2K Readjust Its Injury Sliders?
OK, so I’m not a medical expert, nor am I one of the talking blue check marks on Twitter who wants to get into the weeds about what the NBA should do about its players getting injured. I am a gamer, and this is a website that covers gaming. So, let’s talk about NBA 2K and how the Tyrese Haliburton injury (as well as a litany of others) can affect how injuries will work in future games.
Obviously, to maintain realism, it seems only natural that the world’s leading basketball sim starts stressing that injuries must be nursed to full recovery in order to prevent players from rushing back, or from over-eager user coaches rushing them back.
Yes, there is no definitive link between calf injuries and Achilles tears. But even so, could a strained calf now be a precursor for much more serious injuries? And will load management become an even bigger deal for not just 2K, but the NBA as a whole?
