Tyrese Haliburton Dealing With Shingles, Prolonging Achilles Recovery

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is currently dealing with shingles.

Shingles is a byproduct of chickenpox, which means anybody who’s ever had chickenpox has the shingles virus in them. The virus creates blister-like sores that can stay on the body for weeks. Many patients experience pain in the affected areas years after the rash clears. 

Generally speaking, most shingles patients are older. However, high stress, a weakened immune system, medications or isolation can cause someone under 35 to get shingles.

Haliburton suffered a torn Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Since then, he’s been in a rigorous recovery process to be ready to return by opening night 2026. This recovery process can cause high amounts of stress, along with requiring lots of medication. Haliburton has admitted that the virus has made his recovery more difficult. 

“It’s been miserable. I have good days and bad days, but for the most part, it’s been bad days. I’ve been taking unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it. It hasn’t worked. It’s not been fun, and hopefully it goes away soon. It’s hard to really tell with nerve pain, but I’ve been dealing now with nerve pain for two months, and in the world of nerve pain, that’s not very long. Hopefully it goes away soon.” Haliburton said. 

The Pacers played their final game of the season on April 12. They lost to the Detroit Pistons 133-121. Obi Toppin scored 21 points off the bench for the Pacers, while Kobe Brown scored 20. The Pistons won thanks to Paul Reed scoring 26 points and Tobias Harris scoring 24 points. 

The Pacers finished with a record of 19-63. This was the second-worst record in the NBA, only behind the Washington Wizards. They will need to finish in the top four in the draft lottery to keep their draft pick.