If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve obviously seen or heard about the devastating leg injury sustained by Kevin Ware, the sophomore guard from Louisville. Ware’s attempt to block a shot this weekend against Duke ended in a gory fate that made all of America squirm and cringe.
Fortunately, he underwent successful surgery to put the leg back into place and stitch up his wounds, and somehow he’s up on his feet with the help of crutches already. The outlook remains good for Ware, and he could be back on the court next season if all goes well, something nobody imagined when they saw his fall on Sunday.
Ware’s injury was quite possibly the worst one ever suffered on a basketball court, and considering it was broadcast live on national television with millions watching, it might end up being the most infamous. While the injury was tough to watch, it was even harder to see his distraught teammates try to cope with what they had just seen.
If you were able to watch this all unfold, then you might be able to make it through this list. These aren’t for the faint of heart, so proceed with caution. Here are some of the worst basketball injuries ever suffered on a court.
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ANDREW BOGUT
Bogut suffered a dislocated right elbow, a broken right hand, and a wrist sprain. That’s what happens when 260 pounds reacts to gravity. The Aussie big man recovered and returned to action the following season.
ALLAN RAY
Ray seemed to have had his eye poked out of its socket in his senior season at Villanova, but walked away with just soft tissue damage. He returned less than a week later. The former Wildcat now plays for the German club ratiopharm Ulm.
BARON DAVIS
Of all the severe knees injuries in the 2012 NBA Playoffs, this was probably the ugliest looking. His knee looks like it just caved in. Davis completely tore his ACL and MCL and partially tore his patellar tendon. He is expected to return next season
KYLE BULLINGER
Bullinger dislocated his elbow when he fell trying to grab a board in a game against San Jose St. during his senior season. He missed just nine games after his arm was completely annihilated. The camera truly captures the kind of agony that comes with this type of injury.
EVAN TURNER
Back when Turner was a Buckeye, he fractured two vertebrae while jamming the ball home. While this might not be the nastiest looking injury on the list, it certainly was scary, as you could see by the look in his eyes that everything was not okay. He returned just over a month later.
SHAUN LIVINGSTON
Livingston’s injury is one of those that never leaves your mind. His leg bends in such a way that it looks as if his toes touch his back, something that should never, ever, ever happen. He dislocated his kneecap; tore his ACL, PCL and meniscus; and sprained his MCL. After nearly a year and a half of recovery and rehabilitation, he resumed his career and now plays for the Cavaliers.
GLEN DAVIS
Davis was rocked by an inadvertent elbow from one of the strongest men in the game, so I don’t blame him from being a bit wobbly. What was scariest about this was how disoriented he appeared in the moments afterward. He suffered a severe concussion, but came back just two days later.
DERRICK ROLAND
The Texas A&M Aggie broke his tibia and fibula on this play, and had some of the other players on the court visibly shaken and unable to control themselves. For some reason, the announcers are acting like the dude merely sprained an ankle. And the worst part about this? The injury ended Roland’s college career.
TOM ZELSKI
This Slamball player literally almost had his foot fall off after dislocating his ankle. There’s a point in the video where the graphic details emerge, and after seeing it, we never want to jump again… and will probably stay far away forever from trampolines.
Did we miss any bad ones?
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