Tyrese Haliburton reveals touching Kevin Durant gesture amid Achilles rehab

Tyrese Haliburton is on the road to recovery after tearing his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The young star will be forced to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season.

Although he knows that he’ll feel down once the season starts, Haliburton is enjoying the offseason right now while focusing on his comeback. And his journey to recovery has been smooth because of the support of NBA stars like Kevin Durant, who have past experience dealing with similar injuries.

During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” this week, Haliburton revealed that Kevin Durant actually stopped by to visit him recently.

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"KD actually came and visited me the other day. Came to my house, which was pretty cool. We sat down for a while, just talked. That was pretty cool."

Although the two compete on different teams in the NBA, they won the Olympic gold last year in Paris with Team USA. From the look of things, their bond remains strong.

As he went on to explain, the 2014 NBA MVP shared his own firsthand account of bouncing back from an Achilles tear, while jokingly about welcoming Haliburton to the community of NBA players who have suffered Achilles tears.

Tyrese Haliburton reflects on tearing his Achilles in the NBA Finals

Heading into Game 7 of the NBA Finals, it was no secret that Tyrese Haliburton was dealing with a calf strain.

Despite that, with the Pacers' season on the line, the two-time All-Star suited up for the Championship game. He even got off to a hot start with nine points in seven minutes before going down with the Achilles tear.

While speaking with Pat McAfee on Tuesday, Haliburton opened up on the injury, and the level of concern he and the team had going into the fateful game:

"I'm sitting there and I'm like, 'Well as long as you guys don't tell me absolutely you can't play, we're gonna keep you in your house.' I'm gonna play. It's the NBA Finals. What are we talking about? ... (But) there was definitely a cause of concern that that could happen."

Moments after going down in Game 7, Tyrese Haliburton wanted to walk off on his own, referencing how Kobe Bryant knocked down two free throws after tearing his Achilles tendon in 2013.

However, he quickly realized there was no way he was going to be able to take a single step, leading to his teammates throwing a towel over his face to shield him from cameras.

Now, four weeks removed from surgery, the two-time All-Star is focused on recovery.

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About the author

Evan Bell

Evan Bell is a journalist specializing in the NBA and NHL at Sportskeeda, whose love for the game stems from a childhood spent watching the Chicago Bulls. He has been there through their highs and lows, from the Jordan era to the exciting Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah years.

Evan finds the 82-game season and the intensity of playoff basketball exhilarating, and he also revels in the offseason drama. Phil Jackson stands out as his favorite coach, whom he admires for his composed leadership and success in managing dynamic personalities like Dennis Rodman.

To deliver top-quality content, Evan fact-checks information while diligently keeping up with the action year-round.

When he's not writing, Evan follows tennis and Greek football, and also plays basketball and tennis.

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