Tyrese Haliburton & the Relentless Pursuit of Winning At All Costs

The Oklahoma City Thunder's Game 7 Victory over Rese and the Indiana Pacers gave the franchise its first championship

Game 7 of the NBA finals led to the defeat of the Indiana Pacers, giving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his team the first championship banner in the franchise’s history. There are several stories attached to the result’s of last night’s game, many of which are overwhelmingly (and understandably) negative. Let me get the positive bits out of the way first:

• OKC is the second-youngest team to win an NBA championship (their oldest player, Alex Caruso, is my age, and that makes me happy and sad)

• SGA ended his historic season by adding Finals MVP to his already impressive resume (regular season MVP, Scoring Title winner, and Western Conference MVP)

• The era of the “NBA dynasty” team is well into its sunset, as this marks the 7th season straight in which a new championship team was crowned

I’m sure I’m missing others, but, though I’m not an OKC or Pacer fan, I feel fortunate to have witnessed this season unfold. There were some great games that were played, and we’re finally starting to see separation, as it pertains to the league’s fresh batch of stars.

No NBA season is complete without some degree of backlash and criticism from the fans. There were several events over the course of the last year, the last month alone that are worth covering in today’s post.

I could talk about how bad NBA officiating has gotten, prompting fans to question if the game is truly rigged.

I could talk about how players are calling for shorter seasons and more rest in between games, citing health concerns and a better overall product as reasons for a reevaluation.

I could even pivot away from the Finals to talk about the broader issue of Abu Dhabi money finally reaching the NBA and the conspiracy that a $10 billion “investment” in the Lakers led to one of the biggest, most mind-boggling trades in NBA history (Luka Doncic from Dallas Mavericks to L.A.), which then led to one of the biggest farces in draft lottery history (Mavs miraculously get the number one pick).

Instead, I want to talk about Tyrese Haliburton.

Let’s zoom out for a second

During this past season, seven different players went down with an achilles-related injury—three of whom play for the Indiana Pacers. Among those seven were star players of their respective franchises: Damian Lillard, who was traded from Portland and paired with Giannis Antetekounpo; Jayson Tatum, who led the Celtics to the 2024 Championship; and, finally Tyrese Haliburton, who had one of the most impressive championship runs in the last 10 years.

It feels like, though we’re seeing the most skilled players the league has even seen in today’s game, it also feels like they’re the most fragile, all due respect to them. What’s up with all of these injuries? The old heads who complain about how today’s game isn’t as physical as the “Golden Era” that is the ‘90s are quick to point out how players from back then weren’t getting injured as often as they are now. One could argue the pace of the game and the overall number of games it takes to make a championship run has increased since then, leading to all of these unfortunate injuries.

However, sports science and medicine have seen tremendous advancements since that time. Organizations are outfitted with physicians and researchers who make analyses and suggestions based on the player and strength of schedule to determine who should play/against whom, when they should play, how long they should play, etc. There are also trainers to help with strength, endurance, and conditioning to help optimize both winning potential (on a team level) and career lifespan (on an individual level). I will not pretend to know the cause of this, but it’s obvious that this is a league problem that needs to be addressed by the league itself.

Ruptured achilles in the final game of the season

As a Knick fan of, like, 5 months, I wanted to see the Pacers lose badly. Nowadays when I hoop and see the ball bounce off the back of the rim, I am immediately brought back to the trauma of watching Hali sink that buzzer beater in Game 1 of the Conference Finals. With that said, to see him go down with an achilles rupture during the final game of the entire NBA season was a gut-wrenching, tragic end to an otherwise fairy tale season. “Not like that,” I recall saying once I learned of his injury. I knew that Rese going down would debilitate the team’s spirit, and it would also impact (to a lesser extent) the attitude of OKC, not being able to play their adversary at full strength during the most important game of all of their careers.

Outside of my disdain for the role Haliburton has fulfilled as a certified Knick antagonist, I won’t lie, the boy can play. Since I don’t really have an allegiance to any one team, it was fun watching the back-and-forth between Indiana and the Thunder. It made me look to the future of this league and appreciate the immense talent from practically all corners of the two conferences.

Of course, the deeper implications of an injury such as this is the notion that “players are never the same after tearing their achilles.” Kevin Durant is such a story that evidences the contrary, though not everyone is KD. Kyrie Irving also had a season-ending knee injury in 2018, and, though he came back just as skilled as ever, he suffered another injury earlier this year—a torn ACL in that same knee.

(Prayers up for everyone who went down this season.)

Many will criticize Haliburton’s decision to press on and play through the hamstring injury which ultimately led him to tearing his achilles. But imagine, for a second, dreaming of one thing since childhood, working relentlessly towards that goal, thinking that your chances of coming close to that goal are incredibly slim, watching as the stars aligned and your dream gets closer and closer to a reality by the day, grinding and working and dedicating your life to this one goal even if others weren’t able to see your value, and perfecting your craft until it pays off and the achievement is mere minutes away from you, only to be told “sit this one out.”

Would you rather risk everything you worked for at a chance of seizing the greatness that you desire, or are you comfortable letting others seize it in your name? I am of the opinion that Hali didn’t need to play and, if Indiana had won Game 7, the glory would still be his just the same as if he had played. All of the work prior to that game doesn’t get undone because of missing that one game.

At the same time, I can’t help but think, if it were me in his shoes, I would’ve said the same exact (well, probably not “exact”) words he told (future Hall of Famer) Rick Carlisle—

“Let me play, Coach.”