Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Considered Stepping Away From Team Last Season

Jun 19, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) dribbles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second quarter during game six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

All-Star Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton almost took a break from his commitments on the hardwood last season.

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That numbers among the most surprising revelations in the second season of Netflix's ongoing series "Starting 5," which covered the 2024-25 seasons of Haliburton, Oklahoma City Thunder MVP point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, then-Phoenix Suns All-Star forward Kevin Durant, LA Clippers All-Star point guard James Harden, and Boston Celtics All-Star wing Jaylen Brown.

Anthony Gharib of ESPN notes that Haliburton's fraught year at one point got so bleak that he did consider a break.

As the documentary details, Haliburton was deflated after feeling the roster squeeze from U.S. men's Olympic basketball team head coach Steve Kerr. He appeared in just three contests during the 2024 Paris games.

With the basketball world expecting Indiana to pick up where it left off at the end of the prior season (the team looked pretty lethal in making a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals), the team instead struggled early. Haliburton averaged a middling 18.1 points on 44 percent shooting from the field, while the Pacers stumbled to a 16-18 season start.

"I honestly don't think I've ever felt as negative about myself as I did in November and December," Haliburton said on the show. "Yeah, I was definitely in a dark time."

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Eventually, he considered taking a midseason vacation, and pondered stepping away from the action to reset.

"It got to the point where I was like, 'Should I kind of step away for a little bit just for our group? Would that be more beneficial?'" Haliburton said. "I know that if I'm not right, that our team isn't gonna be right."

Instead, Haliburton's trainer Drew Hanlen helped Haliburton rediscover his footing, inspiring a midseason rally that helped the team go 34-14 down the season's home stretch. Haliburton impressed in that period, too, eventually being named to his second All-NBA Third Team.

The 25-year-old finished the season averaging 18.6 points on .473/.388/.851 shooting splits, 9.2 dimes, 1.4 swipes and 0.77 rejections per.

Along with Pascal Siakam and a fairly deep 3-and-D rotation, Haliburton helped propel Indiana to its first NBA Finals berth since 2000, when he was a literal infant.

Indiana's Return to the NBA Finals

During the Pacers' doomed seven-game Finals clash against Gilgeous-Alexander's heavily favored Thunder, Haliburton suffered a calf injury. He opted to push through in Game 7, ultimately tearing his Achilles tendon just halfway through that contest's first quarter. Indiana was a bit stuck in the mud offensively without his keen distribution, and eventually the Thunder won out in the bout's second half.

Now, Haliburton has already been ruled out for the entire 2025-26 season. Former starting shooting guard Andrew Nembhard has assumed starting point guard duties, while 33-year-old T.J. McConnell — who's already hurt — is slated to remain the Pacers' primary backup at the position.

For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.