Although the Los Angeles Lakers open up the 2017-18 campaign on Thursday, the NBA season held their opener Tuesday night, as the Boston Celtics took on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although this matchup was supposed to focus on Kyrie Irving’s return to Cleveland, Gordon Hayward captured headlines when he suffered a gruesome injury to his ankle.
NBA on TNT announcer Kevin Harlan couldn’t believe what he saw, as he painted a difficult picture for the listeners. Both the Cavaliers and Celtics stopped play as they turned and saw what happened in front of their eyes. LeBron James turned and couldn’t believe what he saw, while Dwyane Wade dropped down and prayed for the injured star. The Cavaliers would go on to win the contest, 102-99.
However, the concern quickly shifted to Hayward, as the NBA family went to Twitter to react to the unfortunate injury. While nothing has been officially reported, it didn’t stop the players from expressing sympathy towards their fallen brethren, including multiple members of the Los Angeles Lakers. Rookie Josh Hart, wcouldn’t believe what he saw and then expressed concern:
Omg….
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) October 18, 2017
Prayers up for Gordon ????????????????
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) October 18, 2017
No fan base or team would ever wish an injury upon their opponent, because some things are always bigger than basketball. Both teams seemed visibly distraught form the injury, attempting to gather themselves as he was carried off the court.
Next up was Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr., who explained why injuries continue to be the worst part of professional sports:
Sick to my stomach still…. worst part of sports
— Larry Nance Jr (@Larrydn22) October 18, 2017
Hayward was attempting to catch a backdoor lob from Irving when he made his move to the basket, but got caught between two Cavaliers and landed awkwardly. He then exerted a scream that had the entire Quicken Loans Arena in complete silence, as the trainers sprinted on the court and talked to the offseason acquisition.
The timing of the injury was horrible, as it marked his first official regular season game with the Celtics. Unfortunately for Hayward, it could possibly be his only game this season with the team, as the Celtics lost one of their best players in a matter of minutes.