Tyrese Haliburton Lost 20 Pounds After Shingles Battle. He Says He Feels ‘Great.’

Tyrese Haliburton hasn’t played a real NBA game since Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, when he tore his Achilles. That’s a long time to sit and watch. But the Indiana Pacers point guard dealt with something else during his recovery that had nothing to do with his ankle.

Shingles.

At one point this year, Haliburton packed on 15 to 20 pounds. The weight gain came from the medication he was taking to fight off the virus, and photos of him looking noticeably heavier than his usual lean frame started circulating online. Fans were concerned. The Pacers were quiet. But now Haliburton says that chapter is closed.

“I feel great,” Haliburton told Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (via Hoopshype). “Shingles is mostly beyond me now. I’ve lost the weight. I feel great. This is the best I’ve felt in a long time.”

The weight gain was real, but temporary

The shingles bout hit him hard. The combination of the virus itself and the steroids or antivirals he was prescribed led to the rapid change in his body. It’s not uncommon. Those kinds of meds can mess with your metabolism and water retention. The good news for Indiana is that Haliburton says he’s back to his normal weight and feeling like himself again.

The Pacers need that version of him. Badly.

Last season without Haliburton was brutal. The team didn’t just lose games. They openly tanked down the stretch, and it still didn’t work out. Their first-round pick went to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac trade, which means they gave up a lottery pick for a center who now has to play at a near All-NBA level to make that deal look smart.

Zubac is good. He’s not that good.

So the pressure is on Haliburton to come back and be the engine of a contender. The Eastern Conference got tougher this offseason. Multiple teams made upgrades. The Pacers are banking on their star point guard shaking off the rust quickly and picking up where he left off before the Achilles injury.

Training camp hasn’t started yet. The 2026-27 schedule drops next month. But for the first time in over a year, Haliburton sounds like he’s in a good place physically. The shingles are gone. The weight is gone. Now it’s just about getting his legs back under him.

And maybe staying away from any more viruses.