Merely seven minutes into the biggest game of his life, Tyrese Haliburton suffered the most brutal blow of his career. During an attempt to get past Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he tore his right Achilles, thus shattering his lifelong dream to win a championship. Although the night ended with Thunder lifting their first title since relocating to OKC, Hali’s injury left Shai devastated, and the MVP made sure to pause his celebration to check on the Pacers star.

Turns out, soon after Game 7 and the trophy presentation ceremony ended, SGA went to the Pacers locker room to meet Tyrese. Visuals from a recently surfaced video show them dapping up and hugging each other. They also indulged in a wholesome conversation and shared a laugh while cameras captured the beautiful moment.

While Hali had a smile on his face during the interaction, Shai understood how much it must have pained him to be unable to finish the game and help his team win. “You just hate to see it. In sports in general, but in this moment, like my heart dropped for him. I couldn’t imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate. It’s not fair,” the MVP confessed during the postgame presser.

Before Tyrese went down with the injury, he was looking in tremendous form. In just seven minutes, he had accumulated 9 points by making three deep-range shots. That made his exit even more painful to watch as it shifted the entire momentum in OKC’s favor. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also revealed the details of their brief interaction while praying for his speedy recovery, “I just felt so bad for him and just asked if he was okay. Obviously, he wasn’t. Prayers go out to him for sure.”

Meanwhile, Hali was also extremely emotional after watching his dream crumble right before his eyes.

Tyrese Haliburton reveals true feelings in emotional statement after Achilles surgery

Just a day after the massive setback, Tyrese underwent surgery to repair his torn Achilles. And once he had time to process everything that happened, he summed up his feelings in an emotional statement, “Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock. 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.”

As Haliburton lay on the hospital bed with a smile on his face, his emotions were all over the place. He even apologized to the city of Indiana for being unable to win them their first title, “Indy, I’m sorry. If any fan base doesn’t deserve this, it’s y’all. But together we are going to fight like hell to get back to this very spot, and get over this hurdle. I don’t doubt for a second that y’all have my back, and I hope you guys know that I have yours.”

Of course, Indiana has nothing but love for Hali because they know that he gave it his all for them, and practically risked his health to make them happy. And the funny thing is, Tyrese says he would do it all again despite knowing the consequences, “I don’t regret it. I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. For the chance to do something special.”

Once Tyrese Haliburton makes a complete recovery, which will likely take months, he plans on coming out for Indiana with the same passion and intensity. More importantly, finish the job this time, “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.” Now, that’s a true leader. Do you agree?