Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is reflecting on his injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals Sunday night, where his team lost the coveted national title, by asserting that “God never gives us more than we can handle” and sharing a verse from the Bible.
On Monday, the team announced that Haliburton would undergo surgery to repair his torn Achilles later in the day, a timeline recovery that could put his hopes to play next season in jeopardy.
The 25-year-old guard shared a post on X Monday night, one night after his team lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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“Don’t know how to explain it other than shock,” he wrote. “Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment, and this is how it ends? Makes no sense.”
While the Iowa State standout lamented his physical condition and how his “foot feels like dead weight” following surgery, he expressed confidence that “this is something I’ll look back on when I’m through this, as something I’m proud I fought through.” He insisted, “At 25, I’ve already learned that God never gives us more than we can handle.”
“I know I’ll come out on the other side of this a better man and a better player,” he added. “And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don’t regret it. I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. For the chance to do something special.”
Haliburton maintained that his journey to get where he is today wasn’t “by happenstance.”
“I’ve pushed myself every day to be great,” he said, describing himself as “grateful for every single experience that’s led me here” and “all the love from the hoop world.”
He embraced his suffering by declaring, “I don’t ‘have to’ go through this, I get to go through this.”
“Watch how I come back from this. So, give me some time, I’ll dust myself off and get right back to being the best version of Tyrese Haliburton,” he vowed.
He concluded with a scripture passage from Proverbs 3:5-6, proclaiming: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
A picture of Haliburton in a hospital bed recovering from surgery and making a heart with his hands accompanied the post.
Haliburton’s girlfriend, Jade Jones, offered a similar sentiment in an Instagram post published Tuesday. She assured her boyfriend: “We will be back, we’re not finished yet! Gods plan, Gods timing.”
A screenshot of an Instagram story posted by Jones shows a picture of her comforting Haliburton after his injury, accompanied by the words “every step of the way” along with emojis of a heart and praying hands.
Haliburton’s faith is featured prominently on his social media accounts, with the phrase “To Him be the glory forever” displayed in his X biography. In a video posted to YouTube last year, Haliburton included the Bible as the most important item on a list of 10 things he cannot “live without.”
“Over the last two years, my religion has become very important in my life,” Haliburton explained. He maintained, “Just understanding that I’m made in the image of God in a world where … you have a bad game, and they kill you on social media or … confidence goes up and down, I can always come right here.”
Haliburton characterized the Bible as his “peace,” adding, “He’s the only one who can really judge me.” The athlete elaborated on his faith journey, detailing how “I didn’t go to church or nothing like that growing up.”
“When I got to the NBA, they do chapel before every game,” he said.
“There’s always a meeting where both teams, coaches, everybody’s welcome to come in and do like a 15-minute service,” he said. He praised the experience as “really good for me.”
In response to a question at a press conference earlier this year, he called the chapel “a big part of my game day routine.” Haliburton considers chapel “15 to 20 minutes I get every day to step aside and talk about what really matters, which is … my Lord and Savior.”
“[It’s] been a big part of my success and honestly, my sanity throughout this year, obviously because it’s been an up-and-down year, but … I know that coming back to the book, coming back to … my peace, really, there always makes me feel at peace.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
