Tyrese Haliburton's return to the Pacers lineup after missing the entire 2025-26 season with an Achilles tear has hit a speed bump, as the All-Star guard will miss some time with a hamstring strain, according to ESPN.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Wednesday on 1075 The Fan in Indianapolis that Haliburton is slated to meet with a hamstring expert, team doctors and team officials later Wednesday afternoon.
"We'll hope this hamstring thing is not a big deal or not any kind of a long-term thing," Carlisle said.
Haliburton, who sat out all of last season after suffering a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, has been terrific for the Pacers in his return to the court, averaging 21.8 points, 9.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game on 51.6/37.0/86.7 shooting splits over Indiana's first four games. After hitting a game-winner in the opener, Haliburton was overcome with emotion thinking about his journey back to the basketball court, and now he will have to find that patience once again as he waits for his hamstring to heal enough to play again.
The Pacers will be without Haliburton for a big game on Wednesday night against the 76ers, with games against the Heat, Nets and Hawks up on the schedule over the next week.
Haliburton's injury continues a frustrating trend in the early NBA season, which has seen a tremendous number of top players listed on injury reports. The list of stars currently on the shelf with injuries is staggering, with the likes of Anthony Edwards, Jalen Williams, Paolo Banchero, Kawhi Leonard, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Alperen Sengun all currently listed out for games on Wednesday night.
Haliburton joins that group and the Pacers will now have to navigate some time without their star guard -- along with injuries to Ivica Zubac, TJ McConnell and others.
