Tyrese Haliburton ‘shocked’ NBA not putting return on national TV

Tyrese Haliburton waited an entire season to get back on an NBA court. He figured the rest of the country might get to watch.

Apparently not.

The Pacers star said he was “shocked” when the NBA released its 2026-27 schedule and his long-awaited return from a torn Achilles wasn’t selected for national television.

Haliburton, who missed all of last season after tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, is scheduled to return Oct. 21 when Indiana visits the New Orleans Pelicans.

“Name any other person that you compare to my level of a basketball player, wherever you have me ranked, if they tore their Achilles and missed 16 months, do you think that [first game back] would be on national TV?” Haliburton said on the Numbers on the Board podcast.

He wasn’t finished.

“Do you think that game would be at home if not on national television? Do you think that game would be at New Orleans?”

Fair questions. Instead, the NBA’s national games that night are Minnesota at Miami and Golden State at the Lakers.

“When I saw the schedule I was like, ‘Oh, wow,’” Haliburton said. “I was shocked to see that. But we move on.”

The Pacers won’t have to wait long for national exposure. Their first nationally televised game comes Oct. 28 at home against Philadelphia.

Still, Haliburton clearly noticed the omission. Now everybody else has, too.