Tyrese Haliburton Plays His First Game in 16 Months for the Pacers

Tyrese Haliburton Returns From His Achilles Injury in a Pacers Win

Tyrese Haliburton played his first game in more than 16 months on Wednesday night, scoring seven points on 3-of-8 shooting with six assists, one steal and two blocks in 16 minutes as Indiana beat Minnesota 123-112 in its preseason opener, ESPN reported. The game was at Iowa State, where Haliburton played college basketball from 2018 to 2020.

It was his first game in more than 400 days, since he tore his right Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. He played all 16 minutes in the first half. When fans chanted for more in the fourth quarter, he pointed to his sandals, a sign he was finished for the night.

It's the first game, but it's got to slow down.

Haliburton said he felt like he was playing too fast but could still read the floor at his usual speed. He said the only way to fix that is game reps.

Our Read: What One Preseason Game Can and Cannot Tell Us

This is our reading, not a reported assessment from the team.

• The box score is the least useful part. Seven points on eight shots in a preseason game says little. Two blocks and six assists in 16 minutes suggest he was engaged on both ends.
• The minutes are the real signal. Playing the whole first half and then sitting fits what Haliburton called a process. A managed workload is what a careful return looks like.
• Speed is the thing to track. His own description, that his body moved faster than his timing, is common after a long layoff. It is a few games of evidence, not a trend.
• A star's health shifts a whole season. Indiana reached a Game 7 in the Finals with him, and an Achilles recovery is a long road. How the team handles his minutes is a better guide than any one scoring night.

The evidence points both ways, a healthy return on one side and a thin sample on the other.

What to Watch for Haliburton and the Pacers

• His minutes in the next preseason games, and whether they rise.
• Whether the turnovers and timing issues he described fade with more reps.
• Any back-to-back plan the Pacers announce once the regular season starts.
• How Indiana's roster and rotation look around him.

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