Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton, already missing this season because of a torn right Achilles tendon, was diagnosed with shingles, coach Rick Carlisle said Sunday.
Haliburton, 25, sustained the Achilles injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder in June.
He has attended most of the Pacers’ games this season. Carlisle said Haliburton will be away from the team for about two to three weeks.
“It’s a very painful thing,” Carlisle told reporters Sunday. “… He will make a full recovery, but this happened over the last few days. He was meeting us in D.C. and had some odd symptoms and he came back here. That’s what’s happening with him. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery. It’s a unique case and a unique situation, but I talked to him a few times and he’s always in a good mood, so he’ll get through it.”
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful skin rash — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After having chickenpox, the virus stays in the body for the rest of a person’s life and can, years, later, reactivate as shingles, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Pacers are 15-43 this season without Haliburton, last in the Eastern Conference and only better in the league than the Sacramento Kings (12-46).
Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 73 games (all starts) during the 2024-25 regular season and was selected All-NBA third team for the second straight year.
A two-time All-Star, he has career averages of 17.5 points, 8.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 333 regular-season games (294 starts) for the Kings (2020-22) and Pacers.
Sacramento selected Haliburton with the 12th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft out of Iowa State.
