Nine months after his championship dream ended in tears on the NBA Finals floor, Tyrese Haliburton is finally showing signs of basketball life again. The Indiana Pacers star has reached another milestone in his long recovery.

Haliburton has resumed 5-on-5 workouts in the gym during rehab. However, the biggest buzz around the Pacers guard right now is not a return date. Instead, it is a strange but hopeful message tied to a new release with Puma.

The 26-year-old delivered the message while promoting his new signature shoe. “My dreams have been weird, fam. One minute, I’m hitting game winners, and the next, I’m bagging groceries. They had me on cereal boxes, and it didn’t even look like me. I was stuck in a freezer. (Feeling) Cold. Alone. Overlooked.”

The surreal monologue appears in a promotional video for his upcoming Puma Hali 1 “Halucinating” signature shoe. In the video, Haliburton speaks to a fictional doctor while describing the emotional roller coaster of his rehab journey.

However, the message ends on a far more optimistic note. “I gotta get back out there. Show them who they’ve been missing.” The shoe release is scheduled for March 20 with a retail price of $130. Yet the timing of the video has also sparked excitement among Pacers fans eager to see their All-Star guard back on the floor.

The Hali 1 “Halucinating” colorway was designed by Salehe Bembury. The shoe features a bright Volt-yellow mesh upper with darker green overlays wrapping around the midsole.

According to Puma, the design reflects Haliburton’s unpredictable year and his shift back to reality as he prepares for his NBA return next season. The shoe’s story closely mirrors the strange dream-like imagery used in the promotional video.

Bembury also designed the Hali 1 “Hibiscus” colorway that Haliburton wore during his first NBA Finals appearance. Unfortunately, that same series produced the moment that changed his season.

During Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Haliburton had already drilled three of his four three-pointers in a rapid 90-second stretch. However, midway through the opening quarter, he collapsed with an Achilles rupture and left the court in tears.

The Pacers ultimately fell 103-91 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in that deciding game. The injury ended Haliburton’s postseason run and immediately shifted his focus to a long recovery process.

Tyrese Haliburton suffered a setback

Recovery from an Achilles rupture rarely follows a straight path. Although Haliburton has now returned to controlled 5-on-5 action in workouts, the rehab process has tested him in other ways.

For instance, he revealed on the Mind the Game podcast with LeBron James and Steve Nash that his body changed dramatically during rehab. “I was 180 lbs. on Game 7 day. I’m 210 right now. Like, I’m up 30 lbs.”

Haliburton explained that the weight gain came with both physical adjustments and mental challenges as he worked his way back. “The other day, we had like the low-minute guys come and play with us. So, I’m guarding Ben. I got to see where I’m at. Hezied me one time. He was at the rim. I was still at the three-point line. I’m like, ‘I still got some time, you know?’ Like I still there’s still I got to give myself some grace.”

Meanwhile, the recovery timeline itself highlights how different Achilles rehabs can be. Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum returned to NBA action after roughly 298 days.

Haliburton’s path appears longer. If he returns next season as expected, his recovery window will be closer to 16 months.

That extra time could ultimately benefit the Pacers guard. A longer rehab allows him to regain conditioning, rebuild explosiveness, and gradually return to full basketball activity.

For now, the viral Puma video suggests something equally important. After months of setbacks, Haliburton is finally thinking about being back on the court again.