Miami Heat big man Kelly Olynyk has unfortunately hit a bump in the road at this point of the offseason.
While playing for the Canadian national team during a FIBA exhibition game on Wednesday, the veteran NBA big man slipped on a wet spot on the court and had to be helped off the floor and brought to the locker room area.
Per Yahoo! Sports Canada, Toronto Raptors and Canadian national team head coach Nick Nurse believes Olynyk suffered a knee injury. The 28-year-old Toronto native is now undergoing X-ray and an update should be provided by Thursday morning.
here's the sequence in the third quarter where kelly olynyk slipped on a wet spot on the floor and had to be helped to the locker room pic.twitter.com/RUn5R8zmgL
— Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) August 8, 2019
Canada is already short of talent after the withdrawals of Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray and highly touted New York Knicks rookie RJ Barrett. Olynyk, along with fellow NBA player Cory Joseph, is expected to anchor the Canadian men's national basketball team in the upcoming FIBA World Cup in China later this month.
Nurse and the national team is certainly hoping that Olynyk's injury is not serious. Losing another NBA-caliber player will be a serious blow to their FIBA World Cup bid, as well as their quest to qualify for the 2020 Olympics through the FIBA tournament.
Olynyk averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Heat in 2018-19. He also shot particularly well, registering a 46.3 percent shooting clip from the field.
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