Sixteen months after tearing his Achilles at Paycom Center, Tyrese Haliburton walked back into the same building on Tuesday night and scored 24 points in 18 first-half minutes. For anyone asking when is Tyrese Haliburton coming back, the answer is now: the preseason game at Oklahoma City confirmed he is ready for opening night. What matters next is whether his numbers can lift Indiana Pacers basketball back to contention.
Fans who remember Tyrese Haliburton playoff stats from the 2025 run will look at every box score, and each Tyrese Haliburton injury update will shape expectations for Indiana Pacers basketball this season. If you enjoy tracking numbers between games, crash games are built on them too: this aviator game india guide explains how Spribe’s game works and offers a free demo, but the casinos it lists target Indian players and are not licensed in any US state.
Which criteria we used to rank Tyrese Haliburton’s comeback metrics
Each metric is ranked by four factors: how directly it reflects his playmaking, how it measures shooting efficiency, what it tells us about durability after the Tyrese Haliburton injury, and how closely it tracked his impact in the 2025 playoffs, when he hit a game-tying or game-winning shot in each of the four rounds.
Top metrics to watch for Tyrese Haliburton in 2026-27
These four numbers connect most directly to team results and to what Tyrese Haliburton now looks like compared with the player who led the league in assists in 2023-24:
- Assists per game, 10.0 target: the clearest sign his vision and pace are back.
- Three-point percentage, 40% target: spacing for the whole offence depends on it.
- Usage rate, about 24%: enough to lead without overloading a recovering tendon.
- Minutes per game, 33 target: the best single measure of durability.
1. Assists per game: 10.0 target
Haliburton averaged more than 10 assists in 2023-24, the league’s best mark, and stayed close to that level before the injury. In his first preseason game, at Iowa State, he had six assists in 16 minutes. A return to double figures would mean the Pacers’ transition offence, the engine of their two conference finals runs, is back at full speed.
2. 3-point percentage 40 percent season mark
His four threes in six attempts at Oklahoma City were the loudest sign of recovery. Explaining what happened to Tyrese Haliburton’s shooting after an Achilles tear starts with lift and balance, which usually take months to return. If he reaches 40% over a full season, defences will have to pick him up far from the basket, opening space for everyone else.
3. Usage rate: 24 percent in 2026-27
Usage rate measures the share of team possessions a player finishes while on the floor. Around 24% lets Haliburton lead the offence without forcing shots or turnovers. The latest Tyrese Haliburton injury update suggests the Pacers will manage his load early, so a slightly lower usage in October would be a sign of caution, not decline.
4. Minutes per game: 33 by midseason, starting with the October preseason
He played 16 minutes in his first preseason game and 18 in the first half at Oklahoma City on 13 October. That game, played on the Thunder’s floor where the injury happened, was a preseason meeting rather than the regular-season opener. When will Tyrese Haliburton return to full minutes? Expect a ramp-up through October and November, with 33 minutes a night a realistic target by midseason.
One caution applies to all four numbers. Players returning from an Achilles rupture often look sharp in their first weeks and then hit a flat spell as the tendon adapts to the volume of a full schedule. Back-to-backs and long road trips are where that shows up first. That is why the Pacers are likely to track his numbers in blocks of ten games rather than reacting to single nights, and why a quiet November would not necessarily mean the comeback has stalled.
Who is next in line as indicators and why they rank lower
Steals, free-throw attempts, and rebound rate also matter. He had two steals in his first preseason game, and more drives leading to free throws would show confidence in his explosiveness. But these numbers swing more from game to game and connect less directly to winning. For daily status, fans searching “is Tyrese Haliburton playing” should check the team’s injury report, published on the official Pacers website before every game.
Final Verdict
The top metrics share one theme: they measure whether Haliburton can control games, not just appear in them. The number one metric to monitor is assists per game, because the Pacers’ whole system is built on his passing. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index projects 42 wins and 10th place in the East, a forecast that leaves plenty of room for a healthy Haliburton to prove wrong. As he put it when asked about the projections, “I don’t look too much into it.” The full projection model is on ESPN’s BPI page.
| Place | Who | Headline number | Period |
| 1 | Assists per game | 10.0 target | 2026-27 season |
| 2 | Three-point percentage | 40% target | 2026-27 season |
| 3 | Usage rate | About 24% | 2026-27 season |
| 4 | Minutes per game | 33 target | By midseason |
FAQ
Is Tyrese Haliburton playing?
Yes. He has played in the preseason and is on course for opening night. For anyone asking “is Tyrese Haliburton playing tonight”, the Pacers’ official injury report before each game is the reliable source, as minutes may still be managed early on.
When is Tyrese Haliburton coming back?
He is already back on the court. His Tyrese Haliburton return came in the preseason opener at Iowa State, followed by the game at Oklahoma City on 13 October. The regular-season opener follows later in October, and any setback in workload could still limit his early minutes.
What happened to Tyrese Haliburton?
He tore his right Achilles tendon about seven minutes into Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City on 22 June 2025. He missed the entire 2025-26 season, so there are no new playoff numbers since that series, and he returned in the 2026 preseason.