The 2025-26 NBA season has yet to start, but it feels like it’s already a lost one for the Indiana Pacers. With Tyrese Haliburton suffering a devastating injury right when the Pacers are on the cusp of winning an NBA championship, Indiana will not have its best player for the entire 2025-26 campaign.  

Not having Haliburton around is a big punch to the gut of the Pacers, especially in terms of their chances to make another deep playoff run in the coming season, but if anything, the timing of his injury gives them an entire offseason to soak in their new reality.

Haliburton appears to have accepted this reality of being a mere helpless figure in the background for the Pacers. As he can’t do much physically, as he continues his long journey from an Achilles tear, the former Iowa State Cyclone star is keeping himself busy partly by worrying about what lies ahead.

“I think it’ll be 15 months until I play my next game,” Haliburton said during an appearance on IMPAULSIVE (h/t HoopsHype). “A lot of journaling—just writing stuff down, getting thoughts out. All those things have definitely been good. But yeah, just trying to think, like: “Bro, what color shoes am I going to wear when I get back?” You know, just thinking about all those little things. Like— “How are we going to build?” “What’s my social media strategy going to be?” “What’s the promo going to look like?” All those things have been fun to think about. But you know—it’s a slow process, bro. It’s like Groundhog Day every single day. Doing the same [ __ ], same lifts, all those same things.”

With Haliburton sitting out the next season and Myles Turner parting ways with Indiana, the Pacers have big holes to cover in the 2025-26 campaign. Pascal Siakam can’t fill both voids, but Indiana should find out more whether those left behind can step up and ensure that Indiana sustains the momentum it generated from its incredible run in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.