Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin blames himself for Tyrese Haliburton’s gut-wrenching injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Haliburton went down with a non-contact injury while attacking a closeout in the first quarter of Sunday’s contest inside Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. The initial belief is that the Pacers star suffered a torn Achilles tendon.
Toppin swung the ball to Haliburton right before the All-Star guard got hurt. After the game, Toppin admitted to reporters that he felt guilty for what had happened to Tyrese. The Dayton alum added that the dark thought affected his play for the rest of the game.
“We needed Ty out there,” the Pacers forward said while fighting back tears. “He’s been good for us all year. For him to go down in a game like that, it sucked the soul out of us. I ain’t going to say out of everybody.
“But I don’t feel like I played good, because I was thinking about it the whole day, and I felt like it was my fault.”
#Pacers forward Obi Toppin on Tyrese Haliburton's injury:
— WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) June 23, 2025
"We needed Ty out there… It sucked the soul out of us. I ain't going to say out of everybody. But I don't feel like I played good because I was thinking about it the whole day and I felt like it was my fault." pic.twitter.com/yvlMzL0bMy
Toppin was a non-factor across 21 minutes in Game 7. The 27-year-old went scoreless and was a -13 during his time on the floor, second-worst on the Pacers.
While there’s no excuse for Toppin’s poor play, it’s hard to blame him for Haliburton’s injury. Lu Dort closed out hard on Obi in the corner, which prevented him from getting a clean look at a shot. Swinging the ball back out to Haliburton seemed like the right basketball play in that situation. You can judge for yourself below.
"You get in a situation like this, you're just sick to your stomach for the young man."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 23, 2025
Mike Breen on the Tyrese Haliburton injury in Game 7. #NBA #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/lKxMkiuaLL
A hobbled Haliburton still showed love to his Pacers teammates after Indiana’s 103-91 defeat.
If Haliburton officially gets diagnosed with a torn Achilles, Toppin and the rest of the Pacers will need to find a way to win without their best player for most of next season.
