Duke standout Zion Williamson suffered what is believed to be a mild knee injury during the first quarter of Wednesday night's matchup against the UNC Tarheels. Like most of the basketball-loving world, Celtics All-Star Kyrie Irving was watching when Zion went down.
Irving was also a star at Duke, and he knows a thing or two about recovering from an injury. Nine game into his freshman year with the Blue Devils, he suffered a severe ligament injury in his right big toe. Despite that fact, Irving recovered and went on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Irving later commented on Zion's injury in a statement to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe:
Via Nick Friar of CelticsWire:
“It’s unfortunate, especially just the situation that happen(ed), blown out of his shoe completely,” Irving said, referring to Williamson's injury. “It’s not really common when you see things like that. It’s just unfortunate, especially on a big-time game like that. Now it’s just, instead of worrying about the injury and what he has to deal with, it just becomes about his future, all the questions that are asked. So, you know, just hope he stays resilient and knows what’s important, and that’s him and his family.”
Kyrie on Zion’s injury: pic.twitter.com/fF7BsUcNKJ
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) February 21, 2019
As he dribbled the ball near the free-throw line, Williamson planted his foot to make a cut. However, in doing so, he slipped. As he fell, his shoe actually gave way, bursting apart at the sole. He was able to walk off the floor under his own power, though he did have a slight limp in his gate.
Hopefully, Zion's injury isn't too severe. He is, after all, the player that most lottery teams had their eye on.
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