Only minutes after Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard nearly came to blows, Julius Randle suffered one that actually matters. The Los Angeles Lakers’ prized rookie was taken off the floor on a stretcher midway through the fourth quarter of the Houston Rockets’ win after injuring his right leg while attacking the rim. His initial diagnosis is a tibial fracture.
Lakers tell me Randle has a fractured tibia, they're transporting him to the hospital, where they'll determine if he needs surgery.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 29, 2014
Here’s video of the injury. Please note that it’s somewhat graphic in nature:
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Bryant, Carlos Boozer, and the rest of the Lakers bench came to Randle’s side as medical personnel immobilized his leg.
Lakers trainers holding the right leg of Julius Randle pic.twitter.com/C79IEXUMRY
— Beto Durán ⭕️ (@DuranSports) October 29, 2014
The Rockets and players of other teams expressed support for the rookie on Twitter shortly following the incident:
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/527328092122275840
Praying for the best and a speedy recovery for Julius Randle! Never want to see that happen to anybody….
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) October 29, 2014
https://twitter.com/Matt_Barnes22/status/527327622095581185
Prayers up for Julius Randle..
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) October 29, 2014
Our thoughts are certainly with Randle, too. Though this is a disheartening way to begin a career, we’ve no doubt he’ll come back stronger than ever – maybe even as the next Kobe.
What do you think?
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