The injury bug has torn its way through the NBA in the opening week of the 2026-27 season. Among the star players to go down with injuries in the early part of the campaign are Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards (knee), Oklahoma City Thunder one-time All-Star Jalen Williams (ankle/fibula), Toronto Raptors superstar small forward Kawhi Leonard (knee), Utah Jazz star big men Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) and Lauri Markkanen (wrist) and Washington Wizards rookie No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa (ankle). Then it was reported on Wednesday afternoon that Indiana Pacers two-time All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton "will miss time" due to a left hamstring strain.
The Haliburton update is particularly crushing, as the 26-year-old is just four games into his comeback season after being sidelined for the entire 2025-26 campaign while recovering from a torn Achilles. The NBA season is only eight days old, yet a shocking number of players are already hurt. https://bsky.app/profile/keerthikau.bsky.social/post/3myxg6n344c2s Haliburton's Pacers are off to a 2-2 start this fall and are looking to bounce back from last season's bridge year. Indiana's floor general suffered his Achilles injury in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, which the Pacers lost to the Thunder.
Indiana went from the cusp of a title to posting the second-worst record in the NBA last season at 19-63. Having Haliburton back in the lineup makes the Pacers instant playoff contenders though, so Wednesday's news is a gut-punch. Indiana will get a good test in its first game of the year without its leader, as the Pacers host Joel Embiid, LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
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