Tyrese Haliburton Battling Shingles: “It’s Been Terrible”

If there were an award for bad luck in 2026, Tyrese Haliburton would win it unanimously. After leading the Indiana Pacers to the Finals a year ago, fate has handed him a brutal bill: first a torn Achilles that sidelined him for the entire 2025–26 season, and then an invisible, far more insidious opponent – facial shingles, commonly known as herpes zoster.

In his end-of-season interview, the Pacers star described an eight-week ordeal that has gone far beyond basketball.

It’s been terrible. My eye was practically shut for days, and the rash on my face made it hard even to be in front of a camera

Tyrese Haliburton

A severe inflammation that reportedly even threatened his vision forced him to constantly wear protective glasses to avoid touching his face:

I lost part of my eyebrow, had some really bad days and even worse ones. There’s nothing fun about any of this

Tyrese Haliburton

Haliburton’s Condition and Social Media Reaction

But in the era of social media, physical suffering was followed by public ridicule. The medication used to fight the infection – including cortisone – caused inevitable weight gain, a side effect compounded by his inability to train because of the pain, significantly changing the guard’s physique.

Unaware of what the Pacers star was going through, social media users coined an unpleasant nickname – “Tyrese Haliburger” – which quickly went viral.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Haliburton handled it with class and humor, showing composure stronger than the online commentary.

I changed three different medications and even tried Botox, but nothing helped. The only result was that I was constantly hungry and gained weight

Tyrese Haliburton

Still, behind the jokes, concern remains high for Indiana. Haliburton’s comments reveal a condition that has lasted two full months – well beyond the normal recovery timeline for this illness.