The Brooklyn Nets suffered a disappointing 118-105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday evening. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the low point of the night for Kenny Atkinson’s team, as 26-year-old guard David Nwaba suffered a non-contact injury to his right leg.
Nwaba is down. Grabbing at his right upper leg. Scary Non-contact injury. Oh no.#WeGoHard pic.twitter.com/IdA2BmCcLy
— Talkin’ Nets (@TalkinNets) December 20, 2019
Later in the evening, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that Nwaba suffered a torn right Achilles tendon. The sentiment was echoed by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who brought word that surgery will occur on the torn tendon on Friday.
Nets G/F David Nwaba has suffered a torn right Achilles tendon, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Nwaba has been emerging in Nets rotation before sudden injury tonight.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 20, 2019
Brooklyn Nets swigman David Nwaba will undergo surgery tomorrow after suffering a torn right Achilles this evening, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) December 20, 2019
If the report proves true, Nwaba would almost certainly miss the remainder of the season, which would be a brutal blow for both player and team. Nwaba signed a two-year contact with Brooklyn prior to this season but the deal is non-guaranteed for the 2020-21 campaign. The former Cal Poly standout joined the Nets rotation in a consistent way in late November, playing at least 14 minutes in ten straight games. Though Nwaba has not been prolific statistically, averaging just 5.3 points per game this season, he provides a nice change of pace and defensive intensity for the Nets.
In his stead, the Nets have a weakened perimeter rotation, especially due to Caris LeVert and Kyrie Irving still being sidelined. Brooklyn will return to action against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday but, in the meantime, the team’s thoughts will undoubtedly be on the status of Nwaba.
