INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton expected to spend the entire NBA season working his way back from a ruptured right Achilles tendon that kept him off the court.
What the two-time All-Star didn’t see coming was how a severe case of shingles would complicate his comeback plans.
Speaking to media Monday, just one day after Indiana wrapped up a disappointing 19-win campaign without their star player, Haliburton revealed that while his Achilles has healed properly, the viral illness will be his main challenge heading into the offseason. The condition has led to weight gain, caused him to lose hair from his right eyebrow, and forced him to wear glasses to protect his irritated eye.
“First of all, I’d tell anybody over 50 years old to get the shot,” Haliburton said. “It’s been miserable. I have good days and bad days, but for the most part it’s been bad days. I’ve been taking unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it. It hasn’t worked. It’s not been fun and hopefully it goes away soon. It’s hard to really tell with nerve pain, but I’ve been dealing now with nerve pain for two months and in the world of nerve pain, that’s not very long. Hopefully, it goes away soon.”
The condition develops when the chickenpox virus, which remains dormant in nerve cells after childhood infection, reactivates due to stress, illness, or aging. This reactivation creates painful, blistering lesions that typically appear on one side of the body and can persist for weeks.
CDC data shows roughly one-third of Americans will experience shingles during their lifetime. While most patients recover completely, serious complications can occur. Eye involvement may result in permanent vision damage, and approximately 20% of patients endure severe nerve pain that can last months or years beyond the initial outbreak.
Team management quickly announced last July that the former Iowa State standout would miss the entire season, but Haliburton explained his rehabilitation had been progressing similarly to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s recovery timeline before the shingles diagnosis emerged. Haliburton suffered his injury during June’s Game 7 NBA Finals appearance, while Tatum tore his Achilles in May.
Tatum has since returned to competition and appears increasingly strong as Boston holds the Eastern Conference’s second seed.
Meanwhile, Haliburton and his Indiana teammates face a pivotal offseason that could determine whether the franchise remains competitive when their star returns next season.
The encouraging news is that Haliburton feels completely confident about his lower leg’s condition. His focus now centers on overcoming the illness that prevented him from participating in full-contact scrimmages until this past week.
“I’m out of shape like crazy, like I never have been before,” Haliburton said. “I’ve changed my medication a bunch of times. I’ve gotten a Botox injection I thought would help, it hasn’t really helped. I’ve done everything, it just hasn’t worked yet. But I’m confident it goes away soon.”
Many observers assumed losing Haliburton would end Indiana’s championship aspirations after reaching last year’s Eastern Conference finals. However, as training camp began, franchise officials rejected characterizing the season as simply waiting for their star’s return.
Early-season injuries to other key players, combined with a devastating 1-13 start, quickly shifted those expectations and left everyone frustrated.
“It was tough, just tough mentally going through that,” four-time All-Star Pascal Siakam said Sunday. “It was hard trying to get through it, find positive things, trying to continue to improve, trying to find ways to win games. It was pretty bad. It sucked.”
Despite his own struggles, Haliburton remained engaged with the team at coach Rick Carlisle’s suggestion, attending meetings, film study sessions, and practice. He served as a mentor to teammates dealing with their own injuries while encouraging younger players to develop their skills.
“Once I get off that (medication) and start running a little more, I have no worries,” Haliburton said. “I’ve got a long summer ahead of me — we’re only in April and the season doesn’t start till October. So I don’t really have any concerns. I can’t wait till I get out there and play and compete with my guys.”
