Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward suffered the worst injury of his career last Tuesday. The 2017 season was supposed to be Hayward’s fresh start and debut with the Celtics, but those plans did not become reality.
The Celtics made many moves to improve their team over the offseason, including signing Hayward to a four-year, 128 million dollar contract. Prior to this season, the Celtics looked like they could be a championship-caliber team with their new star-studded lineup.
On October 17, the Celtics kicked off the NBA season with an away game against the Cleveland Cavaliers: a game highly anticipated by fans. People were looking forward to seeing Hayward play in a Celtics jersey.
However, after only about five minutes into the game, Hayward jumped up to catch a lob, but bumped into Cavaliers forward Lebron James in mid-air and landed on a bent ankle. As soon as Hayward landed hard, he motioned for help from the sideline.
At that moment, fans and players alike grimaced and watched Hayward in shock and disbelief. Hayward’s ankle was bent at a very unnatural angle, which made the injury especially gruesome and horrific.
He was immediately attended to by trainers and coaches and his dislocated ankle was reset on the floor. He was eventually carried off the court on a stretcher and remained in the locker room for the rest of the game. The Celtics players gathered in a huddle after watching their teammate go down and many Cavaliers players showed their support for him as well.
In a post-game interview, Celtics head coach, Brad Stevens discussed that Hayward got into a great rhythm prior to his injury.
“He’s put in a lot of great work. And I thought he had his most comfortable week as far as feeling like he was going to play really well,” Stevens said. “But now we’ll hopefully get a full recovery, right? And so it’s a tough deal, but I guess that’s part of it, the risk of injury. I really feel for him.”
After the game, the Celtics announced that Hayward dislocated his left ankle and fractured his tibia, the largest bone between the knee and ankle. He underwent a successful surgery on Wednesday and is unlikely to return this season, but is expected to make a full recovery.
The Celtics played the Milwaukee Bucks at home on October 18 and before the game they played a video of Hayward addressing the fans from his hospital bed.
“I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has kept me in their thoughts and prayers,” Hayward said. “I’m going to be all right. It’s hurting me that I can’t be there for the home opener; I want nothing more just to be with my teammates and walk out onto that floor tonight. I’ll be supporting you guys from here.”
With Hayward out for the season, the Celtics will have to rely heavily on all-star point guard Kyrie Irving and their recent top draft picks, guard Jaylen Brown and forward Jayson Tatum.
Freshman Jake Silverman believes that Hayward’s injury will also have another impact on the team this season.
“It may affect the rest of the season because players on the Celtics might be worried about season ending injuries,” Silverman said.
