Tyrese Haliburton will make his first NBA appearance since June 2025 on October 21 at New Orleans. The occasion: the Pacers’ 2026-27 season opener. The problem, per Haliburton: it won’t air on national television.
“I was shocked to see that,” he said during a recent podcast. The Indiana point guard, who missed the entire 2025-26 season rehabbing a torn Achilles suffered in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City, questioned whether any player of comparable stature returning from a 16-month absence would get the same treatment.
A comeback without a prime-time stage
The NBA’s opening night on ABC and ESPN features the Timberwolves at the Miami Heat and the Warriors hosting the Lakers. Both are legitimate marquee matchups: Giannis Antetokounmpo debuts in South Beach after his trade from Milwaukee, and LeBron James squares off with Stephen Curry in Los Angeles.
Haliburton’s case is harder to dismiss on narrative grounds. Few images from the recent Finals are as stark as him collapsing on the Gainbridge Fieldhouse floor in Game 7, the Pacers’ first Finals run since the Larry Bird era coming to an abrupt halt. Indiana was two wins away from a championship. Per ESPN, the Pacers are highly optimistic he will be ready for October 21. His Achilles recovery has been visibly ahead of schedule.
How the NBA calculates its marquee games
Market size, star power, ratings history, and broadcast partner preferences drive the scheduling process. Warriors-Lakers is a formula. Heat-Timberwolves gives Giannis a flashy debut. A 26-year-old All-Star point guard coming back from 16 months out, playing his first game in New Orleans on a weeknight, doesn’t fit neatly into those boxes.
Haliburton isn’t arguing the other matchups don’t deserve their slots. He’s asking a simpler question: does his return, given the circumstances, warrant something better than local cable? On that, he’s hard to argue with.
Whatever channel shows it, the Pacers-Pelicans game on October 21 is going to draw eyes.
Bottom line
- The game: Pacers at Pelicans, Oct. 21, local broadcast only
- Haliburton’s take: “I was shocked to see that” – questioning whether any player of his level returning from 16 months out would get the same treatment
- The context: torn Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals vs. Oklahoma City, 16 months out
Sources: ESPN, Yahoo Sports
