Tyrese Haliburton has addressed the chatter regarding his visible weight gain in recent weeks.
The Indiana Pacers star became a trending topic for the wrong reasons on Sunday during his team’s regular-season finale. Several fans noticed Haliburton, who has been sidelined throughout the season with a torn Achilles, looking particularly portly.
The jokes immediately started flying at Haliburton’s expense to the point that the All-Star point guard felt the need to address the issue. Haliburton told reporters Monday that the weight gain was due to the medication he’s been taking as he deals with a bout of face shingles.
“I’ve lost part of my eyebrow,” Haliburton said. “My eye is always swollen from itching it. I have good days and bad days, but for the most part, it’s bad days. It has not been any fun. I’m still honestly dealing with it.
“I’ve taken unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it. It hasn’t worked. It’s obviously caused me to gain weight and look a little bigger. That’s been a topic of conversation through social media, but what can you do? It’s not been fun, and hopefully it goes away here pretty soon.”
Tyrese Haliburton says he's been having a “miserable” battle with shingles
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 13, 2026
Hali says he’s gained weight, lost part of his eyebrow, and has been dealing with nerve pain for two months
(via @Pacers) pic.twitter.com/ypP53FMNSR
Haliburton added that he’s been dealing with nerve pain for two months, and it’s “hard to really tell” how soon his health issues will subside.
Haliburton hasn’t played any serious basketball since June. Shingles or no shingles, he was bound to gain a few pounds as the season went along.
With six months left between now and the start of next season, Haliburton has plenty of time to get back into game shape. All he needs to do is reach out to James Harden’s trainer and dietitian, and he’ll be ready in no time.
