Indiana Pacers talisman Tyrese Haliburton has no regrets on playing with calf strain in the NBA Finals against Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers lost the deciding game of the series by 103-91 but fought tooth and nail against the favorites.
Haliburton suffered the calf strain in Game 5 but despite the injury, he played the sixth game of the series for the Pacers.
The 25-year-old also played Game 7 but crumpled to the floor on an attempted drive to the basket with 4:55 remaining in the opening quarter.
“I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers,” Haliburton wrote in an emotional statement posted to social media Monday night. “For the chance to do something special.”
“Don’t know how to explain it other than shock,” Haliburton wrote. “Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends? Makes no sense.
“Now that I’ve gotten surgery, I wish I could count the number of times people will tell me I’m going to ‘come back stronger’. What a cliche lol, this s— sucks. My foot feels like dead weight fam. But what’s hurting most I think is my mind. Feel like I’m rambling, but I know this is something I’ll look back on when I’m through this, as something I’m proud I fought through. It feels good to let this s— out without y’all seeing the kid ugly cry.”
Haliburton said he is confident about returning to the top level and he would work harder on his rehab.
“I don’t ‘have to’ go through this, I get to go through this,” Haliburton wrote. “I’m grateful for the road that lies ahead. Watch how I come back from this. So, give me some time, I’ll dust myself off and get right back to being the best version of Tyrese Haliburton.”
