Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton sustained a torn right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against Oklahoma City, the team confirmed on Monday.

He’ll likely miss the 2025-26 season, though the team did not announce a timeline for return. An MRI confirmed the injury.

Haliburton, who played through a calf strain in the NBA Finals for the opportunity to win a championship, was scheduled to undergo surgery later Monday in New York.

The seriousness of the injury was apparent from the moment the Pacers’ star guard — who had been playing through a strained right calf — crumpled to the floor without contact as he was attempting to drive to the basket with 4:55 remaining in the opening quarter.

He immediately began slapping the court in frustration and remained on the floor as most of the Pacers team surrounded him.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said: “All of our hearts dropped.”

Haliburton put no weight on the leg and had his face wrapped in towels as he was taken to the locker room. He spent the rest of the 103-91 loss surrounded by family, with applause that could be heard from outside the locker room as he watched the Pacers fall short in their attempt to clinch a championship without him.

He suffered the calf strain in Game 5 of the Finals, but he insisted on playing through the injury, saying, “If I can walk, I want to play.”

The day before Game 7, Haliburton acknowledged after practice his leg was “still stiff, still sore,” but he said he planned to play through it.

Haliburton, 25, had been the breakout star of the postseason, leading Indiana on its improbable run to the Finals. In all four rounds, he hit a tying or winning shot in the final seconds, becoming the league’s first player do so in a single postseason.

He was averaging 17.7 points and a playoff-leading 9.0 assists on 46% shooting entering Sunday. His 197 assists were a franchise record for a single postseason.

“He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play,” Carlisle said. “It was something that no one’s ever seen and did it as one of 17. You know, that’s the beautiful thing about him: As great a player as he is, it’s always a team thing.”

ESPN’s Jamal Collier contributed to this report.