The Indiana Pacers are one of many teams that could take a step back this season. Tyrese Haliburton's torn ACL in the NBA Finals will sideline him for the entire year. However, he is ready to see how the league will evolve and what strategies will prevail. In his opinion, the Oklahoma City Thunder's pairing of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren will inspire mimicks.
The Thunder won 68 games en route to a championship in 2025. While the team was lead by NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, its big man duo dominated all season long when both were healthy. In an era where the league is obsessed with a space-and-pace philosophy, Oklahoma City broke the mold and won the NBA Finals with a dominant defense.
Haliburton broke down what he thinks will change the league in the 2025-26 season on The Kevin O'Connor Show. According to the All-Star guard, he thinks that other teams will try to find their own Hartenstein-Holmgren duo.
“You hear it all the time, our league is a copycat league you take what works and you see what the top teams are doing and you kind of try to steal from that. And I think with Boston two years ago it was shoot a million threes. And then everybody was trying to shoot more threes the following year. I think from this last year, this finals. We see OKC playing two bigs. So I think that will be a transition that’s made,” Haliburton said. “And then I’ve seen a lot of teams talking in the preseason this year about picking up full court more. Which is something I feel like we as a group really brought to the playoffs last year. Sustaining that through seven games I think is easier than being able to sustain it for 82.”
Haliburton won't be on the court for Indiana this season. However, that won't stop him from watching the NBA take another step forward in its evolution of on-court strategy.
