Tyrese Haliburton is still grinding through his rehab, and the Pacers star looks like he’s taking the long road with patience — and with Jade Jones right beside him. Ever since that torn Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Thunder, he’s been locked in on getting healthy enough to eventually finish what he started.
Jade shared a quick video on her Instagram stories that caught fans’ attention: Haliburton going up for a one-handed dunk. It wasn’t anything wild, but seeing him get off the ground again was enough to spark some hope around Indiana.
The Pacers aren’t rushing him. Everyone already expects he’ll miss the whole season, and the team would rather he return only when he’s completely right. Even so, the little signs — like that dunk — have been encouraging. Jones reposted it with a simple caption:
“day by day.”
Meanwhile, the Pacers have been stuck in a rough stretch without him. At 2–14, they’re nowhere near the team that pushed deep last year. Losing Myles Turner in free agency didn’t help, and the injuries have piled up: Johnny Furphy, Quenton Jackson, Aaron Nesmith, Kam Jones, Obi Toppin… the list keeps growing.
Still, there’s at least one positive update coming out of the building.
“Haliburton remains ahead of schedule,” Scott Agness wrote. “This video encapsulates the Pacers’ season. Star player making progress as another looks on in a boot after surgery. More checkpoints to come.”
That was enough to get fans fired up again, even if the wait continues.
“Every day is a different battle”: Tyrese Haliburton shares how rehab has been treating him
Achilles injuries have ended plenty of careers, but some stars — Kevin Durant being the obvious one — managed to come back at the same level or close to it. Haliburton seems locked in on being one of those players. On Friday, he opened up about how things have been going behind the scenes.
“I feel really good, maybe a little bit ahead (of schedule),” he said. “I feel good every day. Every day is a different battle. I have good days and bad days, but I feel good overall. I just stay engaged. It’s nice to some sense of normalcy and be with the guys all the time.”
For now, fans will take any positive sign they can get as Haliburton keeps working his way toward a full return.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
