Prior to the San Antonio Spurs falling short in the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors in a sweep, veteran forward David Lee saw his postseason run come to a premature end due to a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee.

In light of that, Lee has finally received clarity on the diagnosis of his injury as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN is reporting that it has been confirmed as being just a sprained patellar tendon that will allow him to avoid surgery altogether.

Article Continues Below

The injury occurred during Game 3 after Lee landed awkwardly on a layup attempt, where he immediately came up gimpy and was subsequently taken out of the game. Lee was shortly escorted to the locker room with the use of a wheelchair.

The 34-year-old averaged just 4.1 points on 52.1 percent shooting from the field and 3.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs. Lee may no longer be the player he once was, but he did prove to have some gas left in the tank in a limited role off the bench averaging 7.3 points on 59 percent shooting from the field with 5.6 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game during the regular season.

However, things could get quite intriguing over the offseason for Lee as he possesses a $1.6 million player option for next season. This injury could impact his free agency plans, but given that the salary cap will experience another significant jump he may look to garner a better contract in the open market.