INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) -- Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 Pacers season as he recovered from his torn Achilles that he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
Haliburton also was diagnosed with shingles in February and had to step away from the team.
Haliburton opened up about his struggle with shingles after the season ended in April, sharing that he gained weight as he was recovering and that he had lost part of his eyebrow.
At the AC Golf Classic, Pacers president Kevin Pritchard provided an update on Haliburton and his recovery.
"He's doing great," Pritchard said. "He's come off about 10 pounds. He's doing some five-on-five. He's going to have a monthly ramp-up that takes some time, but we think he's going to be ready for training camp."
The Pacers finished the season 19-63, recording their fewest wins in franchise history. They did not have luck on their side in the NBA Draft Lottery either, falling out of the top four, sending their pick to the Los Angeles Clippers due to the trade for center Ivica Zubac. If the Pacers remained in the top four, they would have kept their pick and sent their unprotected 2031 first round pick.
"We felt like the top four of this draft was really special," Pritchard said. "There's no doubt about it, there's more special players in this draft. But we knew that we had to have a center. We had the chance to get a top five, top 10 center that fits us. Zu is really smart, he rebounds, we think there's some passing and shooting that we can get to that Coach Carlisle feels good about. At the end of the day, when you get to the point where you're like one player away, sometimes you just got to shove your chips in."
Pritchard said he did not know if the Pacers would make an aggressive move this offseason.
"We just try to be opportunistic," Pritchard said. "Sometimes a player comes available, and when they do, you have to pounce. We did that with Tyrese. We did that with Siakam. We made a big trade for Nesmith. So we're going to comb the market. If there's the right player, we'll still go get him. We have the assets still to go get him."
