During the final week of an NBA regular season that’s missed Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers star provided an encouraging update about his return to play.

“Played 5 on 5 today for first time since June,” the two-time All-Star point guard posted on X on Wednesday night.

June is when Haliburton, 26, tragically suffered an Achilles tear that cut his epic 2025 postseason short during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Haliburton was playing through a calf strain at the time. He knew the risks that came with that endeavor, and, yet, he rolled the dice in order to try to help the Pacers win their first NBA championship.

But in the first quarter of a fateful Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Haliburton stumbled while dribbling forward, hit the deck and, in obvious pain, pounded the hardwood with his hand.

Then tied, the game wound up in the Thunder’s hands, and Oklahoma City hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy while the Pacers wondered what could have been. Haliburton, after all, was a late-game assassin throughout last year’s playoffs.

A day after Haliburton’s devastating injury, he shared a heartfelt message to fans on social media.

“Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock,” Haliburton wrote while posting a photo of him in a hospital bed, holding up a heart sign with his hands. “Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends? Makes no sense.

“Now that I’ve gotten surgery, I wish I could count the number of times people will tell me I’m going to “come back stronger.” What a cliche lol, this s*** sucks. My foot feels like dead weight fam. But what’s hurting most I think is my mind. Feel like I’m rambling, but I know this is something I’ll look back on when I’m through this, as something I’m proud I fought through. It feels good to let this s*** out without y’all seeing the kid ugly cry.”

In that message, he said he didn’t regret his decision to keep playing after sustaining a calf strain in Game 5. The former Iowa State standout and Sacramento Kings first-round pick apologized to the city of Indianapolis, but he assured Pacers faithful that he’d get back to being “the best version of Tyrese Haliburton.”

In July, the Pacers confirmed that Haliburton wouldn’t play during the 2025-26 season. Team president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard noted that the franchise didn’t want to jeopardize further injury for its floor general.

Elsewhere in the league, another star successfully worked his way back from an Achilles tear. That’s Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, although the six-time All-Star and one-time NBA champ went down with his injury in May during the final minutes of an Eastern Conference semifinals Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks.

Tatum’s first game back was on March 6. In 15 games, he’s averaged 21.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 41.9% from the field and 33.8% from deep for a Celtics team that’s second in the East.

During the 2025-26 campaign, Haliburton has tested the broadcasting waters as a player contributor on "NBA on Prime" and dealt with shingles, among other ups and downs that have come with an unusual season away from the court.

Indiana has struggled mightily in his absence. With three regular-season games remaining, the Pacers are 18-61. That’s the second-worst record in the NBA.

It’s a lost season, but the next one will feature the return of Haliburton, who signaled his progress on Wednesday night.

Win McNamee via Getty Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that franchise icon and longtime MLB coach Davey Lopes died on Wednesday. He was 80 years old.

Lopes is one of the greatest second basemen in Dodgers history. He was a four-time All-Star from 1978-81, an impressive run that started with a Gold Glove Award and culminated in a World Series ring.

He won another World Series as a coach for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. Altogether, between playing and then coaching, Lopes spent 45 years in the majors.

Despite standing only 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, Lopes brought oomph to the plate, where he set a Dodgers record for homers by a second baseman. He was also swift on the base path, twice finishing as the NL's stolen base leader in the '70s.

After helping the Dodgers come back from a 0-2 deficit and beat the New York Yankees in six games during the 1981 World Series, Lopes was traded to the Athletics. He spent 1982-84 with the A's, 1984-86 with the Chicago Cubs and 1986-87 with the Houston Astros to round out his playing career.

The East Providence, Rhode Island, native was hired by the Texas Rangers to join manager Bobby Valentine's staff the next year. That jumpstarted Lopes' coaching career, which touched four different decades.

He got his shot as a manager with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2000. The Brewers didn't record better than a third-place NL Central finish during his two-plus seasons running the clubhouse. But it wasn't long before Lopes was back coaching, returning to the show as the San Diego Padres' first-base coach in 2003. 

Lopes' stay with the Phillies, spanning 2007-10, saw him give the club a boost on the base path as a baserunning advisor. Philadelphia claimed the NL East crown all four years, including in 2008 when it won the World Series.

He wrapped up his coaching career with the Dodgers (2011-15) and Washington Nationals (2016-17). 

The first Baylor player to reportedly signal that he’s entering this year’s transfer portal wasn’t even on the team when the 2025-26 season started.

James Nnaji, who joined the Bears midseason and made his collegiate debut at 21 years old after being selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, plans to hit the portal, according to multiplereports Tuesday.

The 7-foot center appeared in 18 games for a 17-17 Baylor team that finished 13th in the Big 12, and he averaged only 1.4 points in 8.2 minutes per game. Baylor brought aboard the Makurdi, Nigeria, native to help their frontcourt, but that addition wound up stirring more controversy than production.

The news broke on Christmas Eve that Nnaji had enrolled at Baylor. Soon after the calendar flipped to 2026, Nnaji, who had been in the FC Barcelona organization since 2020, became the first NBA Draft pick to play college basketball.

On Dec. 30, NCAA president Charlie Baker clarified in a statement on X that the NCAA "has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract)."

Nnaji never signed an NBA contract. The Detroit Pistons drafted him No. 31 overall, but his rights were traded to the Charlotte Hornets on draft day and once more in 2024 to the New York Knicks as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. Although Nnaji played in NBA Summer League games for the Hornets and Knicks, as recently as last year for the Knicks, he never appeared in an NBA regular-season game.

His arrival in Waco made the blurry line between pro and college hoops even more obscure and caused an uproar among college coaches. Arkansas' John Calipari pleaded for the NCAA to explain its decision to grant Nnaji four years of eligibility, UConn's Dan Hurley clamored for guidelines and rules and Michigan State's Tom Izzo said "shame on the NCAA".

Nnaji bursting onto the scene also paved the way for Charles Bediako to return to Alabama for five games this season, in other words more than two years after he declared for the NBA Draft. Bediako, now 24, hadn't played for the Crimson Tide since the 2022-23 campaign. He went undrafted after that season and ultimately embarked on a G League stint. He did, however, sign a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs in 2023.

While he was granted a temporary restraining order to restore his eligibility this past January, his motion for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed him to play the rest of the 2025-26 season was denied, effectively ending his college career.

Bediako averaged 10 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game for a Sweet 16-bound Crimson Tide squad.

Recently, the NCAA proposed a rule that would require prospects to withdraw from opt-in professional league drafts if they want to maintain their college eligibility.

But that potential change would apply to incoming athletes. For now, Nnaji is still eligible and reportedly set to enter the portal.

Between the drama surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo and the most losing the Bucks have suffered in 10 years, it’s been a season to forget in Milwaukee, and it could be the last one before Doc Rivers steps away from coaching.

Ahead of a road game against the Brooklyn Nets, Rivers was asked Tuesday how much longer he wants to coach in the league.

“I won’t answer that,” the 64-year-old head coach said, via NBA insider Michael Scotto.

“But I have grandkids that I want to see. I’ll put it that way. And, so, I’ll let you figure it out from there. I have seven grandkids now, and they’re all 8 years and under. And it kills me every time I miss ‘Grandparents’ Day’ with each one of them in school. It’s probably time to go see them more.”

Rivers reiterated: “I’ll let you figure out the rest.”

Rivers will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August.

This story is being updated.