Few people in the NBA know exactly what Gordon Hayward went through on Tuesday night when an awkward fall caused him to break his ankle on national television five minutes into his season.
But Paul George certainly does. The Oklahoma City Thunder big man famously suffered a broken leg in 2014 during a USA Basketball showcase. The severe injury ended his 2014 season before it began, and the long road to recovery was difficult for the then-Pacer.
George, however, did return to the NBA and has seemingly played without restrictions, which is what many hope will happen with Hayward in time. George spoke to the media on Wednesday and addressed the injury, saying he was “nauseous” watching on TV when Hayward went down.
Paul George on Gordon Hayward’s injury, and his own experience coming back from one: pic.twitter.com/2KlDNzN3x3
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) October 18, 2017
“It just brought me back to Vegas and what happened to me, my incident,” George said. “I felt devastated, I was nauseous watching it.”
George said he did get in touch with Hayward on Tuesday night and spoke to the difficult emotions that come with a potentially season-ending injury like that.
“Immediately after it happened I texted Gordon. We talked last night. I just tried to give him words of encouragement and just tried to be there for him,” George said. “Gordon has never dealt with something as bad as that. Especially game one of the season. It’s just unfortunate.”
George was asked how you recover from that emotionally, knowing an injury that severe can happen in an instant. He was honest in his answer: you’re never really quite the same again.
You always think about it. I have a bump on my leg for the rest of my life. So I’ll always think about it. It’s always there. So just being on the court. I’m not as explosive. I’m not as bouncy as it was. It’s something I have to live with know. Thankfully I was able to mentally learn the game a different way spending my time off. But it’s always going to be a part of his story.
George’s words are kind of haunting, just like the specter of injury is for him. And he’s right: Hayward will always be known as the guy who broke his ankle on opening night of his first game with the Celtics. But that doesn’t have to be the only thing he’s known for. George managed to take his injury and recover to the point that he’s still a star in the NBA. Everyone hopes Hayward does the same. Thanks to George, the roadmap to recovery is already there.
