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After Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton posted an update on his recovery from a ruptured Achilles injury in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, he posted commented on All-Star Pascal Siakam's social media, embracing a popular meme. Haliburton undoubtedly misses playing basketball amid injury. He isn't close to playing anytime soon but did recently lace them up as a critical step in the direction of playing again.
In the meantime, Siakam will take the wheel as the Eastern Conference champion Pacers' leader in 2025-26, thus Pascal had fun with his Captain Phillips-inspired post, embracing the meme he was often photoshopped to amid Haliburton's injury. Siakam posted a picture of himself driving a boat on his Instagram.
“Fine, I'm the captain now,” Siakam said, to which Haliburton replied, “bout time,” acompanied by three crying-laughing emojis in the comments.
Haliburton's comments hilariously pokes fun at Siakam taking the popular memes of him in stride, fittingly, ahead of a 2025-26 campaign where the Pacers will return most likely without Tyrese all season long. After losing starting center Myles Turner, who agreed to a three-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, in free agency, the Pacers signed free agent James Wiseman.
Head coach Rick Carlisle and the Pacers will look to build off their NBA Finals appearance in Haliburton's absence next season.
Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton's message about missing hoops
After losing Tyrese Haliburton in the first half of Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Thunder, Pacers fans will always wonder “What if,” regarding their team's chances of winning a title. Pushing the Thunder to the brink, Haliburton, amidst a right calf strain, led the Pacers to an inspring 108-91 blowout win in Game 6 to force a do-or-die matchup at the Paycom Center.
After scoring nine points in seven minutes, Haliburton suffered a ruptured Achilles and is expected to miss the 2025-26 campaign. While rehabbing throughout the summer, Haliburton posted a three-worded message that evoked the kind of emotional response that truly resonated with Pacers fans, on his Instagram.
“I miss baseketball”
Pacers guards Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Ben Sheppard, and veteran T.J. McConnell, will most likely take on increased roles in the backcourt for head coach Rick Carlisle. Back-up point guard Johnny Furphy could also be in line for an increased role as the aforementioned guards have already established themselves as part of Carlisle's rotation over the past two seasons with an opporutnity to take on more on the horizon.
