Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals had all the makings of being one of the most epic games in NBA playoff history. Unfortunately, Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tendon tear seven minutes into the game put a damper on that effect. The amount of potential career-altering injuries is on the rise, and one NBA analyst believes he knows why.
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Everyone watching the decisive Game 7 felt a pit in their stomach when Haliburton collapsed. On pace for another patented playoff performance, he started the game by connecting on three three-pointers, one of them from near the OKC logo.
The energy surrounding the game didn’t feel the same after Haliburton’s exit, as Stephen A. Smith can attest. “When he went down like that, it was just like, how are you going to overcome this?” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “When he fell down and started banging his hand on the floor, you’re like, ‘Woah, this is really bad.'”
ESPN insider Brian Windhorst echoed Smith’s sentiment while looking back at Haliburton’s comments on the injury. “He said before Game 6, ‘I understand the risks, I’ve had conversations. I’m going to play,” Windhorst said. “When he was in the hallway, he was crying not just because his leg was in so much pain, he was crying because he understood what he had just lost, and that made it a basketball tragedy.”
Anyone with unbiased eyes can rally behind Windhorst and Smith’s comments. The 6-foot-5 guard is the third star to rupture their Achilles this postseason. Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum suffered the same injury in earlier rounds.
Windhorst and Smith’s cohost, Jay Williams, suggests one key reason why Achilles injuries are becoming more common within the sport. “This year’s pace in the NBA was 108.9, which is faster than any other season since the early ’70s. Eight Achilles tears this season too. That’s not a coincidence; that’s more of a trend,” Williams said.
The league’s shift to a pace-and-space offensive style has led to more wear and tear on players’ bodies. Williams isn’t demanding that teams change the way they play, but he does believe the NBA needs to implement a new protocol to combat this occurrence.
Smith added to William’s point by bringing up a compelling argument Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick once made. “Redick has argued in defense of the modern-day player. He brought up the pace of play to what it used to be and talked about the level of physicality on the human body they go through,” Smith said.
Many people rave about the physicality that past eras endured. Redick’s argument states that the toll on the body hasn’t changed; it has just shifted in appearance due to how fast the game has become. Many are now understanding what Redick was speaking about. It’s just unfortunate it required Haliburton’s injury to bring the subject to light.
