Tearing an Achilles tendon is one of the most gutwrenching injuries a professional athlete can experience. The pain, the loss of function, the grind through recovery, the wonder if you’ll ever be the same. These are just some of the hardships that players like Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton have been battling for months.
Both men sustained the same injury just about a month apart from one another, with Tatum going down in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and Haliburton in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
It hasn’t exactly been a secret that Tatum is moving along nicely through his rehab process, though he’s still got a long way to go before being ready to step back onto an NBA court.
For Haliburton, Tatum’s been someone who he can lean on as he navigates the process in his own right.
"Well me and Jayson talk pretty often, you know, probably once every week, once every couple weeks,” Haliburton told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. “I just think that he's kind of helped me stay upbeat, especially early. He was like a great person for me to talk to, uh, kind of lean on, you know. He's like six weeks ahead of me. So, it's like everything that he was like he's doing and has been doing I like have to look forward to, you know? And so I feel like it's been kind of nice to have somebody going through the—not nice because I hope I wish neither of us were going through it—but it's uh been it's been I don't even know the right word to say, but like I guess nice is it.”
Haliburton's inclusion in 'Starting 5' gives look into Achilles tear, respect for Celtics
Haliburton’s injury was far more documented than Tatum’s, seeing how the Pacers star was part of this year’s Starting 5 docuseries on Netflix. He, Jaylen Brown, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant, and James Harden filled out this season’s cast.
The final episode focusses on the NBA Finals, and of course, the Achilles tear. Haliburton’s initial reaction and then having to watch the remainder of Game 7 from the lockerroom was heartbreaking.
As wild as it sounds to have to go through a traumatic experience like that with a camera crew following you around, it sounds like Netflix made it easy on the 25-year-old. One of Haliburton’s close friend was actually the videographer for that night, so there wasn’t actually a bunch of cameras in his face that whole time.
Aside from this tragic night, Haliburton was a lot of fun to watch in this new season. One of the more interesting aspects, from a Celtics perspective, was how much he and the Pacers respect Boston and value their opportunities to compete against the Cs.
With the two sides having met in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, it’s clear that a mutual respect was established.
Haliburton talked a lot about how Indy would use their games against Boston to guage where they were at in their season, and how much they relished that challenge.
Though he’s expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season, Haliburton’s eventual return to action should be exciting for any NBA fan.