Tyrese Haliburton quotes Kobe Bryant after his own Achilles injury

One day after having had to leave the biggest match in his life, the star of the Indiana Pacers Tyrese Haliburton shared his first public comments since he tore his Achilles straight tendon at the start of match 7 of the NBA final.

“Words cannot express the pain of this disappointment,” wrote Haliburton on X (formerly Twitter) after undergoing surgery on Monday to repair the tendon. “The frustration is unfathomable. I worked all my life to arrive at this time and is that what it ends? Makes no sense. “

But for the majority of his post of five paragraphs, which Haliburton accompanied a photo of him smiling and forming a heart with the hands of a hospital bed, the double star also delivered a message of optimism and determination. And he did it, in part, citing the legend at the end of the Lakers, Kobe Bryant, who overcome the same injury in 2013.

“I think Kobe said it best in this same situation,” wrote Haliburton. “” There are many more problems / challenges in the world and then a torn Achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and work with the same belief, the same motivation and the same conviction as ever. “”

“And that’s exactly true. I will do everything in my power to return to the right. ”

Bryant’s words were part of a long Facebook post early in the morning of April 13, 2013, a few hours after tearing his left Achille tendon while driving in the basket during a match against the Golden State Warriors the previous night. After having suffered the injury, Bryant stayed in the match long enough to sink two free throws.

In his article, Bryant describes his raw emotions and even expresses in a unusually a little doubt before his famous Mamba mentality inevitably surfaces.

“All training and sacrifice simply go through the window with a stage that I have made millions of times!” wrote Bryant, who was 34 years old at the time. “The frustration is unbearable. Anger is raging. Why did it happen?!? He makes no sense. Now, I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player or better at 35?!? How do I hear I supposed to do that ??

“I have no idea. Do I have the coherent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should take out the rocking chair and remedy my career.

Kobe Bryant twists with pain after suffering from an Achilles tendon torn in a match against the Golden State Warriors on April 12, 2013 at the Staples Center.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“It is at 3:30 am, my foot seems to be a dead weight, my head turns from painting against pain and I am well awake. Forgive my ventilation, but what is the purpose of social media if I do not bring you a real image?

This is where Bryant writes the words that Haliburton cited.

“We do not stop, we will not curl up, we do not run,” wrote Bryant later in the post. “We endure and conquer.”

Faithful to his word, Bryant returned to the ground with the Lakers on December 8, 2013. He treated several other injuries – including a knee injury which ended his 2013-14 season only six games after his return from Achille – before retiring at the end of the 2015-16 season, his 20th in the NBA.

More than a decade later, a 25-year-old star uses Bryant’s words as inspiration, a few days after being unable to help his team in a 103-91 defeat against the Thunder with the NBA championship.

Here is Haliburton’s full post:

“Dude. I don’t know how to explain it other than the shock. Words cannot express the pain of this disappointment. Frustration is unfathomable. I worked all my life to arrive at this time and is that how it ends? Has no sense.

“Now that I have been operated on, I would like to be able to count the number of times that people will tell me that I am going to” come back stronger “. What a shot lol, this s – sucks. My foot feels like a dead weight. But what hurts me the most, I think it’s my mind.

“At 25, I have already learned that God never gives us more than what we can manage. I know I will go out on the other side of that a better man and a better player. And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and everything, I don’t regret it. I would do it again and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. To have the chance to do something special.

Tyrese Haliburton of Indiana fell in court with an injury next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Oklahoma City in the first quarter of match 7 of the NBA final on June 22.

(Nate Billings / Associated Press)

“Indy, I’m sorry. If a fans base does not deserve this, it’s all you are. But together, we will fight like hell to come back to this very place, and overcome this obstacle. I have no doubt that you all have your back, and I hope you know that I have yours. Work with the same belief, the same motivation and the same conviction as ever.

“My trip to get to where I am today was not by chance, I pushed myself every day to be great. And I will continue to do exactly that. The most important part of all this is that I am grateful. I am grateful for each experience that led me here. I am grateful for all the time. I’m going to dust myself and start to be the best version of Tyrese Haliburton.

“Proverbs 3: 5-6 ‘trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in any case, recognize it, and it will make your paths direct.'”