Tyrese Haliburton is back in NBA game action. The Indiana Pacers guard recorded seven points and six assists in 16 minutes during a 123–112 preseason win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, 7 October — his first NBA appearance since tearing his right Achilles in the 2025 Finals.
For Indiana and fantasy managers, the meaningful change is straightforward: his return is no longer a scheduled event. He has played against NBA opposition, and there is now an actual workload to assess. That does not make one exhibition proof that his usual minutes or production have returned.
A comeback at his old college home
The Pacers opened their preseason at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, where Haliburton played college basketball for Iowa State. According to the Indianapolis Star’s game report, his appearance ended a 472-day gap between NBA games.
Haliburton scored Indiana’s first points, a moment captured in the NBA’s official return highlight. The setting gave the comeback another layer: before the game, ESPN reported that he had purchased tickets for Iowa State’s student section.
He tore his right Achilles during Game 7 against Oklahoma City in June 2025 and missed the entire 2025–26 season. Wednesday therefore marked his return to NBA competition, not merely another step through practice or an intrasquad scrimmage.
What the first game established
The Star’s account and NBC Sports’ player report agree on the central numbers: seven points, six assists and 16 minutes in an Indiana victory.
NBC Sports also recorded 3-of-8 shooting, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc. Those are useful details, but neither the misses nor the assists should carry more weight than the setting allows. This was a preseason opener after a season-long absence, not a reliable sample of his regular-season efficiency.
The six assists show that Haliburton contributed as a creator during his first outing. The 16 minutes establish how much he played that night. They do not, by themselves, establish a medical minutes restriction or tell us how Indiana will use him once the games count.
That distinction updates Buckets’ earlier report on his expected return against Minnesota: the appearance is confirmed, while his sustained workload remains the next question.
Fantasy outlook: watch the workload, not just the box score
For fantasy managers, this is a positive availability development rather than a reason to immediately project a full return to pre-injury output.
The useful checkpoints now are his minutes across subsequent appearances and any explicit guidance from Indiana about regular-season usage. One 16-minute outing cannot settle how much he will play over a full week or whether his workload will build gradually.
Haliburton has cleared an important basketball milestone. The next task is establishing what his return looks like beyond the first night.
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