An absolutely catastrophic injury to Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton in Game 7 of the NBA Finals has fans and players worried for his future beyond this game.
Haliburton went down in the first quarter of Sunday night’s do-or-die, championship-deciding game with a lower leg injury. It comes after the star sat a good portion of Game 6 after suffering a quad strain in the same leg.
The guard was carried off the court and to the locker room and will not return in a devastating blow to Indiana’s hopes of winning a first NBA title. It was later confirmed by the star’s father, John Haliburton, that Tyrese had suffered an Achilles injury.
In the aftermath of the injury, NBA stars like LeBron James tweeted their shock.
James, the four-time NBA champion, simply tweeted out an expletive on Sunday night along with face-palm and prayer hand emojis.
LeBron was far from the only sports star to react to the injury in real time.
Tyrese Haliburton (0) went down with an Achilles injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals
Lakers star LeBron James was one of many NBA stars to tweet their reactions to the injury
Haliburton’s injury dealt a major blow to the Pacers’ hopes of winning their first NBA title
Four players that Haliburton’s Pacers eliminated in the playoffs reacted as well.
Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who was eliminated by Indiana in the second round, tweeted, ‘These calf strains ain’t no joke man!! Praying for Ty’.
A trio of New York Knicks stars, who lost to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals, also posted.
Josh Hart simply tweeted ‘Ty’ with three prayer hands emojis. Jalen Brunson posted, ‘Prayers up man’ while Karl-Anthony Towns said something similar: ‘You never want to see that, prayers up.’
Even Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes posted, ‘Prayers up man…’ with similar emojis as the others.
It’s a disappointing end to a night that started with such promise for Haliburton, who went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to grab nine points.
If Haliburton did indeed tear his Achilles, he’d be the third NBA superstar to suffer that injury in these playoffs, alongside Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard and Boston Celtics guard Jayson Tatum.
A torn Achilles would likely require surgery and a lengthy recovery time for the Indiana star.
At halftime, Indiana is clinging on to a 48-47 lead.
