Haliburton said on "The Pat McAfee Show" Tuesday that he knew it was his Achilles as soon as it happened, and also noted that after writhing on the ground in pain, he thought about trying to have a Kobe Bryant moment by walking off under his own power.

In Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton became the ninth player last season to tear his Achilles, joining fellow stars Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum, who also got hurt in the playoffs. Famously,

Haliburton has always been complimentary towards Gilgeous-Alexander. He called him the MVP before he won the trophy. What made it more daring for him to say that was that Nikola Jokic was still in a two-man race. He almost led one of the biggest upsets ever but fell just short.