Tyrese Haliburton Battling Calf Strain But Adamant He's Playing Game 6

Tyrese Haliburton is dealing with a left calf strain and will undergo an MRI to determine the severity, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

“The belief is Tyrese Haliburton has strained his right calf and I’m told he will undergo an MRI to determine the exact severity of this strain,” Shams said. “And remember, this is the same leg that he had ankle soreness in last week,” Charania said. “He was adamant after Game 5 that he would be playing Thursday, Game 6 of the NBA Finals. It is the NBA Finals but it was described to me today that if this were the regular season, or even the first round, there’s doubt that he would play.”

Tyrese Haliburton injured his right leg and went back to the locker room after this play.

He came back and returned to the game in the 2nd quarter. pic.twitter.com/ZDl9Z3oJ2D

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 17, 2025

Haliburton didn’t look like himself in Game 5. He finished with just four points, missed all six of his field goal attempts, and for the first time this postseason, walked off the floor without making a single bucket.

But Haliburton’s mind is already made up.

“It’s the Finals, man,” he told reporters after the loss. “I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete. Help my teammates any way I can. I was not great tonight by any means, but it’s not really a thought of mine to not play [in Game 6]. If I can walk, then I want to play.”

That kind of attitude isn’t lost on his teammates either.

Pascal Siakam had nothing but admiration for the 24-year-old point guard.

“He’s a fighter. He’s been our rock all year,” Siakam said postgame. “He’s a big reason why we’re here. I don’t know exactly what’s wrong, but I know he’s fighting and he’s going to give us everything he’s got. We are a hundred percent behind him and we support him.”