One moment of heartbreak changed everything—yet Dwyane Wade says the collapse was coming, no matter what. Game 7 of the NBA Finals had all the makings of a storybook ending for the Indiana Pacers—until the unthinkable happened. Just seven minutes into the game, Tyrese Haliburton, the heart and soul of this Pacers squad, went down. The energy at the Paycom Center froze. One moment the Pacers were dreaming big, the next, their hopes crumbled with their star lying on the hardwood.
Naturally, most fans and analysts were quick to point to Haliburton’s exit as the tipping point. But Dwyane Wade—never one to sugarcoat his takes—had a different perspective. He believed the collapse was going to happen either way. Now, that’s a bold claim. But when it comes from a three-time NBA champion who’s seen it all, it makes you think twice.
Four times this postseason, Haliburton either tied or gave his team the lead in the dying seconds. So when Wade said the downfall was inevitable, it has to raise some eyebrows—and valid questions. “I did say it was going to be at least a 12-point smack,” the Miami Heat icon said on his Dwyane Wade podcast, sticking to his pregame prediction. Bob Metelus tried interjecting that he would’ve sided with this prediction had he had any intuition about Hali’s injury. And that’s when the bold claim from the 3x NBA champ came.
“Well, no one could call that. But we thought with Hali or without Hali that this was (inevitable)…” Wade said on his podcast. However, he gave credit where it was due, praising TJ McConnell’s “unbelievable quarter.” But despite his bold claim regarding Pacers’ loss with or without Hali, Dwyane Wade pointed to how quickly the offense unraveled without Haliburton. “They kind of lost that as soon as Hali left the game and TJ just went to the dribble, dribble, dribble game. Like, kind of like Shai, but he’s not Shai.”
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
McConnell put up solid numbers—16 points on 8-of-13 shooting—but the Pacers managed only 44 points in the second half. That’s not just a dip; it was their lowest second-half total of the entire postseason. The rhythm, the spacing, the identity—it all disappeared. Still, in true Haliburton fashion, he held his head high.
“I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers,” Tyrese wrote afterward. His words captured the grit and pride of a team that had already outperformed every expectation. But Dwyane Wade’s breakdown leaves us with a sobering thought: maybe the Pacers didn’t just lose Haliburton that night. Maybe they ran headfirst into the hard truths of what it takes to win it all. Amid all the discussions going on in the media space, the good news is that the Pacers guard underwent surgery, and he’s in high spirits already.
Tyrese Haliburton draws inspiration from Kobe Bryant after successful surgery
The Indiana Pacers fought hard on the court, but without their leader, they fell short in a 103-91 loss. That absence was felt deeply, and subsequently Tyrese Haliburton just underwent surgery on Monday to address the issue that sidelined him at a critical point in the season.
After the operation, Haliburton took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a message that many fans may find both grounded and uplifting: “At 25, I’ve already learned that God never gives us more than we can handle. I know I’ll come out on the other side of this a better man and a better player.” And it wasn’t just faith driving his mindset—it was the legacy of one of basketball’s greatest warriors. Hali also leaned on the words of the late Kobe Bryant, who once played through his own Achilles injury with legendary grit:
“I think Kobe said it best when in this same situation,” Haliburton wrote. “‘There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.’”
Drawing strength from Kobe’s mindset makes perfect sense. When Bryant went down with a torn Achilles in 2013, he didn’t just power through the pain—he made it a defining moment. If Haliburton follows that same path, Pacers fans have every reason to believe he’ll return stronger, both mentally and physically. And maybe in another run, he could prove it to Dwyane Wade that his absence did matter.
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