Tyrese Haliburton’s last game ended in the cruelest way possible. He drilled three three-pointers to open Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, then unceremoniously tore his Achilles at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter.

Indiana never recovered, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 103-91, in the championship decider.

The Pacers spent all of last season recovering from the fallout. With Haliburton sidelined for the entire 2025-26 campaign, Indiana collapsed to 19-63, the second-worst record in the league, ahead of only the Washington Wizards’ 17-65 mark.

Now, roughly 16 months after he last played, Haliburton says he’s finally ready to go, and he sounds like a man with something to prove. Fueling that fire further, he appears to have taken it as a slight that the Pacers will open the season on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans instead of getting a nationally televised homecoming or even just a home game.

With all of the time that has passed, it is easy to forget just how good Haliburton was before the injury. Still only 26, he is already a two-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA selection who led the league in assists during the 2023-24 season at 10.9 a game. Through his first five seasons, his career averages sit at 17.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Indiana’s trajectory before his injury was encouraging too. The 2024-25 season marked the third straight year the Pacers improved their record, and they finished 50-32, their first 50-win season since 2014, good for fourth in the East before their Finals run. With Haliburton back, there’s every reason to think they can get back to that level, or better.

The Pacers are also bringing back most of the cast that got them to the finals. Andrew Nembhard remains Haliburton’s partner in the backcourt, Pascal Siakam anchors the frontcourt, and Aaron Nesmith, T.J. McConnell, and Obi Toppin round out a rotation that already knows what it takes to win together.

Indiana has made some changes too, acquiring Ivica Zubac from the Clippers last February to replace Myles Turner, who left in 2025, and adding Kelly Oubre on a two-year, $17 million deal to give the wing some extra scoring punch.

Both additions look built with Haliburton in mind. He and Zubac should form a dangerous pick-and-roll pairing, while Oubre’s blend of shooting and athleticism makes him an ideal target for Haliburton’s playmaking.

Oddsmakers, for now, remain skeptical, with Indiana sitting at just the eighth-best odds to win the East, behind teams like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Miami, and Toronto. But betting against a healthy Haliburton, and a Pacers team that loves being an underdog, feels like a mistake waiting to happen.