Jaden Ivey’s breakout season has come to a sudden and unfortunate ending.
Ivey was stretchered off the court Wednesday night with what looked like a serious lower leg injury, and it was — Ivey suffered a broken Fibula, for which he had surgery on Thursday, and is out for the remainder of the season, a story broken by Shams Charania of the Athletic and since confirmed by the team. The fibula is one of the bones of the lower leg and calf area.
Ivey has been having a breakout season, averaging 17.4 points a game while shooting 39.2% from 3. For the rebuilding Pistons, Ivey looked like he could be a long-term backcourt running mate with Cade Cunningham. Ivey’s teammates were emotional about the injury.
Cade on Ivey: “It’s tough on the whole group, to see him hurting like that is tough on us. He’s built for it, he’s going to shake back knowing him. He’s going to work his tail off and be better than ever when he gets back. It’s tough for sure.”
— Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) January 2, 2025
Ivey’s injury happened early in the fourth quarter when Orlando’s Cole Anthony dove for a loose ball and crashed into Ivey’s leg, rolling it up. The game instantly came to a halt as players and staff from both teams surrounded Ivey, who stayed on the floor for some time before being stretchered off the court.
Ivey, the third-year guard out of Purdue taken No. 5 overall in 2022, is contract extension eligible after this season, although that’s not on anybody’s mind right now. Everyone’s thoughts are with Ivey, and hoping for a speedy recovery.
