Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey suffered a broken fibula in his left leg during Pistons’ 105-96 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Per ESPN, the 22-year-old Ivey will miss at least most of the remainder of the season.
Ivey suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Magic after Cade Cunningham missed a 3-pointer, and both Ivey and Magic guard Cole Anthony chased after the ball. As Ivey bent down to try and pick it up, Anthony dove for it and crashed into his leg. Ivey’s left foot and ankle got trapped under Anthony’s body, while his lower leg and knee bent from the force of the collision. Ivey fell to the floor in pain, and medical personnel worked quickly to stabilize his leg before he was loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled off the court. Ivey, who has started all 30 games in which he has appeared this season, exited the game with 22 points on 5-for-6 shooting from behind-the-arc.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game: “It’s tough. It’s tough on all of us. No better teammate, person than J.I. No one who cares more about this thing than him. It’s tough to see …At the heart of this team, and what we’ve tried to preach all year since we’ve been here is togetherness. If one guy goes down, you don’t want to let that guy down, so everybody else has to step up. Again, it’s the emotions, it’s the human aspect of it, but I thought our guys did a really good job of just sticking together and getting it done.”
According to the Detroit Free Press, the team plans to be cautious with Ivey’s rehabilitation, but it is not ruling out a return this season depending on Detroit’s play and potential postseason run.
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