Tyrese Haliburton says OKC return ‘wasn’t nearly as bad’ as he expected after Achilles

Tyrese Haliburton said walking back into Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center was not nearly as heavy as he expected. Speaking after his 24-point first half in Indiana’s 114-112 overtime preseason loss to the Thunder, the Pacers guard told reporter Jordan Davis he had braced for more emotion in the building where he tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

I caught up with Tyrese Haliburton following his 24-point outing in the Pacers’ preseason loss to the Thunder.

It marked his first time playing in OKC since tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

“I thought I would feel maybe a little more emotion coming in… pic.twitter.com/WPiZ8REwm4

— Jordan Davis (@thejordancdavis) October 14, 2026

What Haliburton said

“I thought I would feel maybe a little more emotion coming in here. I don’t know if it was sadness or scared or whatever,” Haliburton said. “But once the ball jumped up, it just felt like normal, and shootaround felt like normal, so it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.”

He had sat out Indiana’s previous preseason game with an ankle issue and chose to play in OKC anyway. “I just kind of ripped the Band-Aid off, getting it out of the way now,” he said.

The performance matched the moment

Haliburton scored 24 points in 18 first-half minutes on 9-of-14 shooting and 4-of-6 from three, with three rebounds, three assists and two blocks. He had 19 points in roughly his first 10 minutes, including a three from 34 feet. It was his first game at Paycom Center since the Finals injury that cost him the entire 2025-26 season.

“It feels good, man. I put a lot of work in. It’s been a long 16 months or whatever it is,” Haliburton said. “So yeah, it definitely feels good to see the fruits of your labor, and hope to keep growing.”

What comes next

Indiana closes the preseason Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks before opening the regular season October 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans. Haliburton said he is looking forward to “all the mundane things in basketball” that come with being fully back.

Sources cited by name: Tyrese Haliburton postgame interview with Jordan Davis; ClutchPoints.

WhyNBA Sports Desk

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