Decades of dreams saw some hope when Rick Carlisle brought questionable Tyrese Haliburton to the court ahead of Game 7. The sea of blue at the Paycom Center stood silent as the glazing Yellow Number 0 dropped one 3-point after another. Not for long, though. The debatable duel between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton then rested as Hali walked out. The Indiana Pacers, riding the wildest wave of momentum until half-time of G7 in the franchise’s history, nose-dived as OKC’s coronation party made it clear, it is their night, without Hali. But it left behind many what-ifs.

The visuals of Tyrese Haliburton slipping only to bang the floor in visible agony midway through the first quarter sent chills to fans, neutrals, and everyone who was glued to the court. It was about one scream, a slip, and the sound of heartbreak echoing through the arena. The nightmare turned true, and we didn’t need a doctor’s report to know what had happened. NBA fans had seen this before. And so had Brian Windhorst.

On ESPN’s Get Up, Brian Windhorst’s voice cracked with emotion. As the veteran insider tried to dissect what had unfolded at the Paycom Center. “Yes. I don’t want to take anything away from the Thunder…But I will never forget the ‘what if’ of this game,” said Windhorst. “Devastation to see Tyrese go down…you’ve got a sick feeling in your stomach. I will never get over the odd feeling and the uncomfortableness of the way that felt.” That was the mood across NBA fandom, across teams. Tyrese Haliburton was not just another star going down. He was in charge of the Pacers’ engine, culture, and Miller’s unfinished dream.

The building went quiet. The pace slowed. Both the players from the Pacers and the Thunder felt it. Game 7 of the Finals had become something else entirely. His absence in the second half of the Game cracked open the team’s soul. But Indiana still fought to fulfill the hero’s dream. They led at halftime; However, OKC charged on the broken Pacers, one after another. Haliburton’s brain and rhythm had been their secret weapon all year. Without him, it all fell apart. But Tyrese’s absence was not unpredictable. And Kendric Perkins, with the kind of blunt, brutal honesty only he can deliver, said what many were thinking: Game 7 tipped off. 

Warning comes true with pain beyond the scoreboard

Tyrese Haliburton knew the risk. Everyone around him did. The Pacers’ staff were “concerned at halftime” of Game 5. The athlete admitted he was not right. But it was the Finals, and Haliburton had built his career on defying odds and silencing skeptics. So he played through it. Gritted out Game 6, and started Game 7 like the All-Star he is. Then it happened, a drive, a man crying into his forearm. The same calf, the same story. It was exactly the scenario Kendrick Perkins, the OKC legend, had warned about.

Echoing the infamous 2019 Finals moment when Kevin Durant came back from a “calf strain” and ended up rupturing his Achilles. That cautionary tale, once again, had become a nightmare. “if they say it’s a calf strain, sit out,” Perkins said earlier in the series. “Same advice I gave to Kevin Durant. Forget what the franchise is telling you”. Tyrese took the risk. Not to chase fame but deliver Indiana what it deserves, a Ring.

Outside the hospital, the scene was gut-wrenching. Haliburton on crutches, greeting fans. Still trying to be their leader. “That’s who he is,” said T. J. McConnell. “He’s just the greatest man”. At just 25, Haliburton has time, game, and has built on IQ and skill. But Achilles’ injuries are cruel. They steal something from you, even if you come back.

There is no question that OKC earned the title. Shai was phenomenal. However, this game will always come back with what-ifs, in Brian Windhorst’s words, because we all saw what Tyrese was becoming, defying the notion that ‘Tyrese Haliburton is NOT a superstar‘.