Let’s call it what it is—2025 has been a straight-up horror show for Achilles tendons. And when Tyrese Haliburton hit the deck in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, screaming and clutching his leg, it felt like a punch to the gut for every basketball fan who’s ever yelled “HEEM!” after one of his highlight passes. It was a brutal, non-contact collapse with 4:55 left in the first quarter, and suddenly, the Pacers’ Cinderella run turned into a medical nightmare.
And here’s the real kicker: Haliburton had already been nursing a right calf strain from Game 5. The man came out gunning in Game 7—three triples in seven minutes—and boom, just like that, his Achilles said, “Nope.” It was like watching your favorite player go down in 2K after you ignored three straight “Fatigue Warning” pop-ups. Game. Over.
An MRI confirmed what we feared: a torn right Achilles. He underwent surgery the very next day in New York with Dr. Martin O’Malley (a.k.a. the go-to fixer of basketball bodies), and now he’s staring down an 8-to-12-month rehab journey. Translation: you can pretty much pencil Tyrese Haliburton out for the entire 2025–26 season.
But this isn’t just about one star. This is about a trend—a nasty, tendon-snapping, career-threatening trend.
Matt Barnes put it best—“Why is all this happening?” The man’s not wrong to ask. “There was only 45 Achilles tears from 1990 to 2023. Eight Achilles tears alone in the 2025 season.” Read that again. That’s eight this year, zero last year. In fact, the previous record was just four in a season. This year doubled that.
And Matt Barnes didn’t stop there. “These kids are playing way too many specialized sports at a younger age… I played four different sports in high school… Grassroots basketball development, if you’re lucky enough to get to the league, will probably put five years on your body.”
So basically, AAU is out here adding mileage like the Spurs added banners in the 2000s.
Even Kevin Durant chimed in after Cam’ron went full uncle-mode begging players to stop wearing low-cut kicks: “Brother, this absolutely has nothing to do with the injury.” KD’s camp is all about wear and tear—not footwear. And look, he’s got a point. The NBA’s current pace is through the roof—“as high as it’s been since the seventies,” Barnes said. That’s 109 possessions per game. No rest. All gas. It’s like running a 4×100 relay… every night… while being chased by Giannis.
Who’s on the Injury List? Basically, Half an All-Star Lineup
Here’s the depressing roll call:
James Wiseman (left Achilles, Pacers opener vs Pistons)
Isaiah Jackson (right Achilles, vs Pelicans)
Dejounte Murray (right Achilles, vs Celtics)
Dru Smith (left Achilles, Christmas Eve)
Damian Lillard (left Achilles, 1st round vs Pacers)
Jayson Tatum (right Achilles, ECF Game 4 vs Knicks)
Tyrese Haliburton (right Achilles, Finals Game 7 vs OKC)
That’s not a rehab list. That’s a starting lineup.
Commissioner Adam Silver isn’t sitting on his hands, either. “We had already convened a panel of experts before Tyrese’s most recent Achilles rupture,” he told ESPN during the draft. The league is pulling out the AI big guns to track patterns in game footage—like some hoop version of Minority Report, trying to predict the next tendon tragedy.
“We had seven this year. We had zero last year under the exact same circumstances. The most we’ve ever had in a season is four.”
Let that marinate.
Silver even added, “Modern NBA players, even when they’re not playing games, sometimes in the summer they’re working harder than they are during the season.” So basically, everyone’s grinding year-round like it’s MyCareer and they’re still chasing badges. No offseason, no mercy. He’s 25. Young. Resilient. In a heartfelt message after surgery, Tyrese Haliburton said, “I’d do it again… to fight for this city… I have no regrets.” That’s real. That’s Mamba mentality right there.
Still, Achilles injuries are career-altering. Kobe had it. KD had it. Some, like DeMarcus Cousins, never looked the same. But modern medicine’s improved—Tatum and Haliburton both had immediate surgery from top specialists. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that today’s players recover faster and stronger than even five years ago.
But there’s no guarantee.
The Pacers will take it slow. Rick Carlisle isn’t throwing Tyrese Haliburton back into the fire just because his Instagram workout clips start trending. They’re going to protect their franchise point guard like he’s the last slice of pizza in the locker room.
Jun 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts after suffering an injury during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
This Tyrese Haliburton injury is bigger than Indiana. It’s become the face of a growing crisis. The NBA is changing—faster games, flashier plays, nonstop action—but the bodies powering that change are breaking down at alarming rates.
And when even Matt Barnes and Kevin Durant are in the same camp on a topic, you know it’s real.
So next time you see a fast break end in a poster dunk, remember—those extra possessions may be boosting ratings, but someone’s Achilles might be one sprint away from snapping like a brittle old net cord in a 1970s gym.
Tyrese Haliburton deserved better. And so do the players, risking it all night after night.
The post Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles Tear Raises Matt Barnes’ Suspicions Over NBA’s Concerning Injuries appeared first on EssentiallySports.
