Tyrese Haliburton's recovery from a torn Achilles tendon has been hindered by a shingles diagnosis, which caused weight gain and affected his fitness. He revealed that medication for shingles has delayed his rehab progress with the Indiana Pacers.
Tyrese Haliburton details how shingles delayed Achilles rehab with Pacers
Indiana Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton has had a tough go this year.
Not only has he been rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon suffered early in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, he also contracted shingles in February and spent some time away from the team.
When speaking with reporters Monday, April 13, Haliburton revealed that the medication he has been taking for the shingles diagnosis has led to weight gain and being out of shape, thus delaying his progress on the Achilles.
"This has sucked," Haliburton said. "My dad had it during the Finals on his stomach; a lot of people get it there, but mine has been on my face, so I couldnāt even go in front of a camera if I wanted to, earlier, because my eye was basically closed shut and it was all over my face."
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Haliburton added that he didnāt feel itchiness for the first two weeks, but that he had a bad rash.
"But then when the rash went away, the itching came," he continued. "Itās been miserable."
Haliburton was speaking to reporters for his final interview before the team departed for the offseason. Indiana struggled significantly without Haliburton and also faced several other key injuries early in the season.
The Pacers finished the season with a 19-63 record, which was second-worst in the NBA. The Pacers had good reason to underperform, as a midseason trade with the Los Angeles Clippers that brought Ivica Zubac resulted in Indianaās 2026 first-round draft pick being protected for picks No. 1-4 and 10-30. That means that if the Pacers fall in that 5-9 range in the lottery, the selection will go to the Clippers.
"I lost part of my eyebrow, my eye is always swollen from itching it," Haliburton continued. "I have good days and bad days, but for the most part, itās bad days. It has not been any fun.
"Iāve been taking unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it. It hasnāt worked. It has obviously caused me to gain weight and look a little bigger, so that has been a topic of conversation through social media and stuff, but what can you do?"
Despite all that, Haliburton remained optimistic that the treatment would solve the issue and said he expects his training over the offseason will lead to a return to playing shape.
"I feel great," he said. "My body feels great. I feel like Iām in a great spot in terms of my leg."
In 73 games last season, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. He hit several massive shots late in games throughout the regular season and playoffs, posting one of the most prolific stretches of clutch performances in NBA history.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tyrese Haliburton says shingles slowed Achilles rehab
Shingles caused weight gain and impacted Haliburton's fitness, delaying his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon.
Haliburton suffered a torn Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
Tyrese Haliburton contracted shingles in February, which contributed to his rehab challenges.
Haliburton experienced weight gain and a decline in fitness due to the medication he was taking for shingles.
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