ESPN committed a brutal whiff during their halftime show for Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The big story in the first half of the game was Tyrese Haliburton suffering an Achilles tendon injury during the first quarter. There is a direct comparison between what happened with Haliburton and what happened with Kevin Durant in the 2019 NBA Finals, as he played through a calf injury and ended up snapping his Achilles tendon.
Bob Myers was the Warriors’ president and general manager at the time, and the same Myers was sitting there on the ESPN set at halftime of Game 7 on Sunday. Asking Myers about the Durant injury would have been very appropriate given the parallels of the situation. But nobody on the ABC/ESPN set brought it up to Myers.
The halftime show began with Stephen A. Smith yelling, and then Myers talked.
“I hate seeing star players get hurt. … The work and the sacrifice they put in to get to these moments, and to not be able to play has gotta be devastating for him,” Myers said.
After Myers spoke in his broad terms, Malika Andrews then talked. The show went to a commercial break, and then the hosts provided analysis for the second half. The lack of discussion from Myers was noted by some fans.
Not asking Bob Myers about when Durant tore his Achilles in the Golden State-Totonto Finals is an interesting call.
— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) June 23, 2025
The last player to tear his ACL during the NBA Finals was Kevin Durant in 2019.
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) June 23, 2025
Bob Myers was his GM.
He was never asked about it during the halftime show, but there was plenty of time for Stephen A. to scream about “smelling blood in the water.” pic.twitter.com/QUT1ARsaII
The Durant injury was so relevant and applicable. To not ask someone who was intimately involved in the situation more about it and what it was like was a major missed opportunity.
