Tyrese Haliburton’s Inner Circle Made Emotional Return To Pacers More Special

NEW ORLEANS – Tyrese Haliburton finished his pre-game warmup Wednesday night at 5:43 p.m. by hitting two three pointers from the giant Pelicans logo at the center of the Smoothie King Center. After the second one dropped through the net, Haliburton walked toward Pacers assistant coach Isaac Yacob – who had just spent about 15 minutes rebounding and passing the ball to Haliburton – for a quick handshake. Together, the two sat on the bench to pore over film.

Yacob is one of Haliburton’s closest friends. They originally connected during their time with the Sacramento Kings and have continued to build a relationship during their time with the Pacers. This summer, Yacob was a groomsman in Haliburton’s wedding. Their bond goes beyond basketball.

Bonds like that, and others that surrounded Haliburton’s warmup for his first regular season NBA game in 559 days, had the star guard emotional as he returned to basketball. And how could he not be? Haliburton is a basketball romantic. He is the Pacers spirit and soul – the reason for their style and joy. He was finally back after missing an entire season thanks to a torn Achilles suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

“It just means a lot for me to be back doing what I love,” Haliburton said, holding his face up with his hand as he fielded questions after the game. His head, and emotions, were heavy after letting out tears in a walkoff interview with Pacers local broadcaster Jeremiah Johnson.

It was the first time that Haliburton wore his wedding band during a press conference, a fitting signal of the people that meant the most to him during the rehab process. He couldn’t have marched on without his family. His wife, Jade, sat focused during Haliburton’s aforementioned warmup. His mom, who voiced the narration for a Pacers social media post welcoming her son back, was just a few seats away. His dad, as usual, was watching it all while moving around the court and speaking with just about everybody who surrounded the Pacers bench area.

Two others checked in on Haliburton more than anyone else during his long recovery. One was Triple H, a retired wrestler and WWE legend. Triple H provided the narration for Haliburton’s own post celebrating his return to basketball. Haliburton wore a jacket when entering the arena that was a direct copy of the one Tripe H wore when he returned from a quad injury in 2002. The Pacers star is a huge WWE fan, so he leaned into that theme.

“Just wanted to give a little ode to him,” Haliburton said.

Triple H was at the game in spirit. The second person who supported Haliburton more than any non-family member during his rehab was at the game in reality. Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray, who spent much of 2025 recovering from a torn achilles himself, became an important confidant for the Pacers star guard.

At 5:44 p.m., just moments after Haliburton finished his warmup, Murray walked on the court to prepare for his own. The two embraced by the Pacers bench.

“Welcome back,” Murray said. The two planned a postgame jersey swap.

“I would say the two people that have checked on me the most outside of my family have been Dejounte Murray and Triple H,” Haliburton shared postgame. It added meaning to the game that one of those two was on the court with him while the other aided his fanfare.

As Haliburton was setting his own scene, his teammates were setting another. It was the season opener, and the Pacers are hungry. It was their first game with major expectations and meaning since Haliburton’s injury, and they acted like it.

Pregame, the music being played in the locker room was much quieter than it typically is. Jay Huff and Jarace Walker were silently reading and journaling. Players popped into the locker room, read the scouting report on the white board, then put on their headphones to focus. There were fewer conversations, at least for a bit.

Then Haliburton entered the room, his jersey and Triple H jacket displayed in such a way that photos could easily be taken of them. He was smiling and immediately began singing along to the Lil Wayne song that was playing. Forward Jalen Slawson handed him the phone that was connected to the speaker. Guard Quenton Jackson smiled as the vibe shifted just because Haliburton entered the room.

That is what the star guard does for his Pacers teammates when he isn’t on the court: He lifts their spirits and brings joy. It’s why his return was so highly anticipated – not just for Haliburton, and not just for fans. For everyone. His presence makes work, and basketball, more fun for the Pacers.

The contrasting environments that were Haliburton’s eager demeanor and his teammates’ engrossed prep suddenly merged into one. That continued for the next half hour, then the Pacers huddled up before running onto the court for the first time of the 2026-27 season.

Haliburton could hardly contain his excitement. His grin looked like a three point arc. He high-fived his teammates one-by-one. Obi Toppin arrived, one of the last Pacers players to join the mix.

“Welcome back zero!” he shouted, referring to Haliburton’s jersey number. The Pacers then bunched up and jogged to the hardwood, where they were greeted by hundreds of Pacers fans who made the trip to New Orleans to see Haliburton return to action.

“It’s amazing to see,” Toppin later said of Haliburton’s first game in over a year. “We’ve seen the progress that he’s made… so just to see him back out there being himself, he didn’t [miss] a beat. He was just his regular self.”

While it wasn’t wire-to-wire dominance, Haliburton’s performance did feel so much like – to use Toppin’s words – his regular self. The star guard’s first stint lasted about seven minutes and ended with seven points and three assists. With 5:28 left in the third quarter, Haliburton reached a double-double when he found Toppin for his 10th assist.

Haliburton’s clutch play, made famous by his heroics during the 2025 playoffs, was sublime. He had five points and two assists in the final 4:04 of the game, dominating offensively in the two-man game with Pascal Siakam. Haliburton was fouled hitting a floater with 83 seconds left in the game, and after hitting the ensuing free throw the Pacers reached 121 points. The Pelicans would finish with 120.

Fitting. He hit the dagger.

“It felt good, two-man action with him,” Siakam said of closing with Haliburton. “We always know that’s a good thing.” Siakam could tell that Haliburton was emotional postgame once he saw him in the locker room. “He was at the highest moment possible of your career, about to win a championship. And then you get hurt and you’re out for a year… Just what it took to get back to this level, and the hard work and dedication. Of course he’s emotional.

“We’re with him and support him. We’re glad that he’s back,” Siakam concluded.

Haliburton felt that support every step of the way. And he appreciated it all the way through the end of his return game, wiping tears from his eyes as he walked off the court. Fans, of which there were still many, chanted “M-V-P,” as he exited the playing area.

“To see all those Pacers fans here in New Orleans for this means a lot to me,” Haliburton said. “This organization, this city (Indianapolis) means a lot. And it just means a lot for me to be back doing what I love.”

Haliburton finished with 23 points and 12 assists. Of course it was a points-assists double-double – Haliburton has now done that 138 times, 119 of them have been with the Pacers. No other player in franchise history has more than 67. And of course, Haliburton was a master in crunch time. It was the 10th time in his career he’s hit a shot to take the lead in the final 90 seconds of a fourth quarter.

Of course it went this way. Haliburton’s biggest supporters, who were sitting courtside two hours before the game, knew that performance was coming. His family had no doubts.

His dad, John, was social before the game but carried more of an antsy attitude than he typically does. He couldn’t wait to watch his son play again. His heart was warmed by the journey Tyrese took to get back to the court.

“I’m going to tell y’all, emotions are going to be high, but joyful. And the reason being is because of God’s peace, what God has done, what God has shown himself to my family through my son by healing him, by giving him an opportunity to do this again at a very high level,” John said of his, and his family’s emotions during the day leading up to his son’s return. “So we’re all excited and we just can’t wait until tip-off. You might look at us now, we’re walking around looking peaceful. But let me tell you something, we’re ready to blow up. We’re ready to go. Every one of us. That’s from his agent to his family. We’re ready to go.”

Haliburton gave everyone – his family, his teammates, and the many fans that made the trip down to New Orleans – something to blow up over. Of course he did. That’s what Tyrese Haliburton always does for the Pacers.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com