Tyrese Haliburton shines in emotional NBA preseason return to Oklahoma City

The NBA returns in just seven days, and with the new season so close, teams are ramping up their stars as the preseason wraps up. One of the biggest questions throughout every NBA preseason is which teams will take a leap from the year before. The biggest riser candidate is the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers essentially punted on last season with star guard Tyrese Haliburton recovering from a torn Achilles. Indiana finished with the league's second-worst record last year, winning just 19 games. The torn Achilles Haliburton was recovering from occurred in the 2025 NBA Finals.