Tyrese Haliburton dealing with 'very painful' shingles diagnosis as Pacers season takes another strange twist

Just when you thought the Indiana Pacers' 2025-26 season couldn't get any stranger, star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who has already been ruled out for the season with a torn Achilles, was diagnosed with shingles and will be away for the team for multiple weeks. 

Shingles, which is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, is "a viral infection that causes a painful rash," per the Mayo Clinic. It "isn't life-threatening. But it can be very painful." 

"It's a very painful thing," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Sunday. "... He will make a full recovery, but this happened over the last few days. He was meeting us in D.C. and had some odd symptoms and he came back here. That's what's happening with him. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery. It's a unique case and a unique situation, but I talked to him a few times and he's always in a good mood, so he'll get through it."

The Pacers lost a shootout to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, 134-130, to fall to 15-43. Less than a year after losing in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Pacers have the second-worst record in the league, and are in line for a top pick in the vaunted 2026 NBA Draft... maybe.

In the wake of Haliburton's diagnosis, here's a quick look at how the Pacers got to this point, and why they're at risk of losing their first-round pick. 

Injuries, injuries, injuries

In the first five mintues of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Haliburton made three 3-pointers to give the Pacers an early lead and put some fear into the Thunder crowd. Then, midway through the opening quarter, his right Achilles tendon ruptured, which essentially ended the Pacers' hopes of their first NBA title and sidelined Halburton for the entire 2025-26 season. 

The Pacers' record would suggest that they have deliberately tanked without Haliburton, but that's not the case. They took the Thunder to double overtime on opening night, and four of their first six losses were by six points or fewer. For the season, they have 11 losses by six points or fewer and only seven by 20 points or more. (For comparison, the Sacramento Kings, who are the only team with a worse record, have 14 losses by 20-plus points.)

Carlisle and Co. didn't come into this season with the intention of taking a gap year. That outcome was forced upon them by a parade of injuries, particularly early in the season. 

Jay Huff is the only player on the roster who has played in every game, and Jarace Walker and Pascal Siakam are the only other players who haven't missed at least 10 games. All told, the Pacers have had 25 players appear in at least one contest, and their most-used lineup has only played 96 minutes together. (There are 52 different lineups across the league that have played at least 100 minutes together.)

Here's a look at some of the notable injuries the Pacers have dealt with in addition to Haliburton's absence and Myles Turner's departure in free agency:

• T.J. McConnell -- Hamstring injury kept him out from Oct. 23 until Nov. 9 (10 games)
• Andrew Nembhard -- Shoulder injury kept him out from Oct. 25 until Nov. 5 (7 games)
• Bennedict Mathurin (pre-trade) -- Foot injury kept him out from Oct. 26 until Nov. 15 (11 games); thumb injury kept him out from Jan. 4 until Jan. 23 (11 games)
• Obi Toppin -- Foot injury has kept him out since Oct. 29 with no set return date (55 games and counting)
• Aaron Nesmith -- Knee injury kept him out from Nov. 15 until Dec. 26 (19 games)
• Isaiah Jackson (pre-trade) -- Concussion kept him out from Dec. 23 until Jan. 16 (13 games)
• Johnny Furphy -- Ankle injury kept him out from Nov. 5 until Dec. 1 (14 games); Torn ACL ended his season on Feb. 8 (4 games and counting)
• Ivica Zubac (since trade) -- Ankle injury has kept him out since arrival and with no set return date (6 games and counting)

The Pacers' injury crisis has been incomprehensible at times. They compete, but no team could survive the litany of health problems they've had this season. 

A revolving draft pick

On June 17, 2025, just a few days before Haliburton's injury in Game 7, the Pacers traded the No. 23 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to the New Orleans Pelicans to reacquire their first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. (They had originally sent their 2026 first to the Toronto Raptors in the Siakam trade, and the Raptors had sent it to the Pelicans in the Brandon Ingram trade.)

When Haliburton went down, the Pacers' 2026 first suddenly became extremely valuable -- even more so once they got off to a 2-16 start that all but assured they would be at the bottom of the standings this season. 

For much of the season, it seemed as though the Pacers were heading toward a top pick in this year's draft, which features an array of talented players, including Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU wing AJ Dybantsa and Duke forward Cameron Boozer. 

Then, hours before the trade deadline earlier this month, the Pacers sent Mathurin, Jackson, two first-round picks and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for Zubac and Kobe Brown. One of those firsts was the Pacers' 2026 selection. However, there is a catch. The Pacers' 2026 first is protected 1-4 and 10-30. If the Pacers' pick lands in the top four or below No. 9, they keep it and the Clippers receive their 2031 first instead. If the 2026 first falls between 5-9, the Clippers get it. 

The revolving 2026 first has only added to the strangeness of the last year for the Pacers. This time last year, they did not own their 2026 first. Then, for about eight months, they had sole possession of it, and all the talk was about how they would add a major prospect in the draft and be right back in position to compete next season. Now, they have acquired their center of the future, but only have partial possession of their pick, and are at risk of losing it if the ping pong balls don't go their way in a few months. 

At this point, it's fair to say the Pacers have leaned into the tank, and who can blame them. They are three games ahead of the Kings for the worst record in the league, but only one game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans for the second-worst record, two games ahead of the Washington Wizards and 3½ games ahead of the Utah Jazz. 

If the Pacers finish with one of the three worst records, they will have a 52.1% chance of their pick landing in the top-four. If they finish with the fourth-worst record, those odds drop to 48.1% and if they finish with the fifth-worst record, those odds drop to 42.1%.