Jaden Ivey.
Arturo Holmes/Getty ImagesDetroit Pistons Guard Jaden Ivey suffered a leg injury so gruesome on Wednesday, January 1, that his teammates made sure to hide it from the fans in attendance.
In the fourth quarter of the Pistons’ game against the Orlando Magic at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, the left leg of Ivey, 22, became trapped under the Magic’s leg. Cole Antoine as both players chased a loose ball.
Ivey immediately found himself on the ground in absolute agony while being treated by the Pistons medical staff. Eventually, one of Ivey’s teammates grabbed a towel from the bench to cover his leg and the rest of the team formed a circle around him.
A stretcher was used to carry Ivey off the field as the arena watched in hushed silence. Ivey’s teammate, Ausar Thompsonwas seen wiping away tears.
Getty Images (4) Sometimes sports truly have the power to touch our hearts – and 2024 has had more than its share of special moments. In baseball, Freddie Freeman, the World Series MVP, returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers to a standing ovation after leaving the team to care for his son in intensive care, (…)
Sources told ESPN on Thursday, January 2, that Ivey suffered a fractured fibula in his left leg and will likely miss the remainder of the season.
‘It’s tough. It’s tough for all of us,’ Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff said after the match. “No better teammate, no one than JI. No one who cares about this thing more than him. It’s hard to see.
Bickerstaff, 45, added: “At the heart of this team, and what we’ve tried to preach all year since we’ve been here, is unity. If one guy goes down, you don’t want to let him down, so everyone else has to step up. Again, it’s the emotions, it’s the human aspect, but I think our guys did a really good job of staying together and getting through it.
The Pistons star Cade Cunningham said Ivey’s injury was “tough on the whole group.”
“Seeing him suffer like this is hard for us,” Cunningham, 23, told reporters. “He’s built for this, he’ll shake himself knowing it.” He will work hard and he will be better than ever when he returns. It’s hard to see, that’s for sure.
After the injury, Cunningham said he gathered the team for “a prayer.”
“I just wanted to pull ourselves together and talk about it and make sure everyone was on the same page on what we needed to do from this point on,” Cunningham said.
Ivey, who was selected by the Pistons with the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
The Pistons return to action on Friday, January 3 against the Charlotte Hornets.
