Tyrese Haliburton has returned to the floor and is once again participating in full-contact basketball activities, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
About seven months after suffering an Achilles tear in the Pacers’ Game 7 loss to the Thunder, Haliburton has moved on to playing in three-on-three and four-on-four scrimmages as part of his recovery.
“I’m approaching week 31 here, so it’s almost eight months,” Haliburton said in a recent appearance on LeBron James’ Mind The Game podcast. “Man, I feel really good. My body feels really good. I just started playing 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 full court. It was good being with the (player development) interns and stuff. It was funny because when I started playing with the interns and (assistant coach) Jannero Pargo, one of our player development guys, I’m playing with these guys and I feel so nice. I’m like, ‘Ooh, I can’t playing in an NBA game ‘now’.
Even with that confidence, Haliburton acknowledged that practicing with regular teammates quickly reminded him that he’s still working on getting back to full speed.
Sessions with players like Kam Jones, Ethan Thompson and Bennedict Mathurin highlighted the gap between feeling healthy and being fully game-ready.
“The first play, (Mathurin) comes down, hesi, shoots a three,” Haliburton said. “They say, ‘Go to him!’ He says, ‘Ah, his leg.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m doing good. Attack me as normal. I have to see where I am.’ He hesitated once. He was standing on the edge, I was still on the three-point line. I thought, ‘Ohhh.’ I still have some time. I need to give myself some grace and understand that it will take some time.
Indiana officially ruled Haliburton out last summer for the entire 2025-26 season, meaning his return to NBA play won’t happen until at least next fall.
Still, the steps he’s taken suggest he should be in a strong position during training camp and potentially prepare for a bounce-back year in 2026-2027.
Center Notes: Haliburton, Bradley, Collins, White, Cavs https://t.co/aJv6CKIt2b pic.twitter.com/uPog7ZIs3h
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) January 29, 2026
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