After 472 days away from an NBA floor, Tyrese Haliburton finally stepped on one Wednesday night. The Indiana Pacers guard returned in the preseason opener against the Timberwolves at Hilton Coliseum. It's the Iowa State building where he became a star before entering the NBA.
Haliburton stayed on the floor for only 16 minutes, but the setting and everything that came before it made the night difficult to measure with a box score.
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The 26-year-old took to X to describe what the moment
meant to him. "At a loss for words trying to describe tonight. 16 months from hell, but Ames, Iowa was the perfect place to get back to it. I'm a Loyal Son, Forever True. Love y'all forever @IowaStateU."
The final line came from Iowa State's fight song, whose lyrics include "Loyal sons forever true." Tyrese Haliburton spent two seasons with the Cyclones from 2018 to 2020, and he made his return even more personal by buying every student-section ticket for the game, putting 2,500 students in the building for his comeback.
Watch Tyrese Haliburton's raw, emotional return after a grueling injury battle. Subscribe to stay updated on his comeback story and the Pacers' championship hopes.
It was a perfect return as the Pacers beat the Wolves 123-112. Tyrese Haliburton played 16 minutes and finished with 7 points, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal while shooting 3-of-8 from the field.
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He scored Indiana's first points of the night on a transition pull-up and later delivered a cross-court pass to Aaron Nesmith for a corner three.
Hali's last appearance came in Game 7 of the NBA Finals in June 2025 against the Thunder. He ruptured his right Achilles in the opening quarter and had to leave the floor. It ultimately ended the Pacers' title hopes. He didn't step onto the court again until this preseason return in Ames, Iowa.
The following season became a painful gap year for the Pacers. Without their lead guard, Indiana finished 19-63, the worst record in franchise history and a stunning fall from the team that had reached the Finals just a month earlier.
With Tyrese Haliburton recovering from injury, the horrors of Finals Game 7 haunted the fans throughout the disastrous 2025-26 season.
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The preseason return offered him a different memory.
Haliburton spent his college career building his name at Iowa State, averaging 15.2 ppg and 6.5 apg per game as a sophomore while earning All-Big 12 recognition. Returning to Hilton Coliseum, therefore, gave him the rare chance to step back into an NBA place in the place where his professional story first took shape.
There was still plenty of rust.
Tyrese Haliburton made three of his eight shots and admitted afterward that adrenaline had his body moving faster than he wanted.
"It's the first game, but it's got to slow down. There was just a lot of adrenaline. I was hyped to be out there, excited, but I just got to slow down a little bit."
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But he also recorded two blocks, a steal, and a shot clock violation during his limited stint, proving a reminder that his impact has never depended entirely on scoring.
Now the Pacers can finally start evaluating their roster with their centerpiece back. Indiana added Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. this summer. Meanwhile, Ivica Zubac joins Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith in the projected starting lineup around Haliburton.
That makes the return more than an emotional preseason moment.
Indiana went from reaching the NBA Finals to winning 19 games while Haliburton recovered. His comeback gives the franchise its clearest look yet at whether the group can begin another climb.
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Tyrese Haliburton called the previous stretch " 16 months from hell.
" His first game back did not erase the injury or the disappointment of that Finals loss. It did give him something he had not had for 472 days.
It gave him another night of basketball, and a perfect place to begin again.
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