Injury - An athlete's worst nightmare

Ask any athlete, anywhere in the world, playing any sport the following question –

“What is your biggest fear when you are playing?”

There is more than a 90 percent chance that he or she answers ‘Injury’. It is unfortunate, but it is a given that injuries are part and parcel in any sport. So many careers have been cut short as a result of these and talents were wasted. In the wake of NBA star Paul George’s gruesome injury, this article would be centered around NBA players.

Injury concerns

The NBA is a mixture of giant athletes running, jumping, cutting and colliding one another all the time for the sole purpose of winning. Basketball’s best and brightest men work so many years to reach a point where they can play the sport they love as a means of livelihood for them and their families. Along their inspiring journeys, injuries make their unfair entry and hinder the athletes’ abilities or sometimes take those away from them. No athlete is devoid of this threat. Some athletes are lucky enough to get away with minor ones. But it is the other unfortunate group who had to pay a hefty price.

Paul George carried on the stretcher.

Paul George, 24, a young star, after tasting success in the last 4 seasons was on his way towards superstardom. George was playing in the Team USA scrimmage, a practice game played at Las Vegas, U.S.A. on Friday which included some of the top NBA players who were split into two teams to fight for their spots in the US National team for the upcoming FIBA World Cup. Everything was going as planned. The players were doing what they do best. And George too was doing what he does best – playing defense. During the 4th quarter, Paul George was trying to block James Harden’s layup on a fast break.

Then the horror happened.

While trying to block Harden’s layup, George landed hard on the ground on his right. His right leg was caught in the gap between the ground and the stanchion which supported the basket. With that, the bottom half of his leg literally broke. It was so bad that the game was called off after that. It was so bad that Kyrie Irving, one of the players on the team was crying on his dad’s arms after witnessing that. It is really unpleasant to explain what happened. It is even more unpleasant to watch the footage of that happening. For those of you who want to watch it, you can, if you are not squeamish about it. It is blowing up all over Twitter, Facebook and so many other websites.

Recovery mode

Now the big question is “Will he be able to come back from that injury and be a player he was before the injury much less a better player?” With this serious fracture, George is ruled out of the next NBA season. He is under treatment at the moment. The doctors said that he would need to start using crutches for a few weeks after the surgery and then rehab for several months before he can start hitting the gym and get back into shape again.

But, truth be told, his basketball future is in chaos. Nobody is sure about the success of his recovery. Not just Paul George, but a lot of superstars have had serious injuries in the last two years. Kobe Bryant tore his ACL last April and has barely stepped onto an NBA court again. Derrick Rose tore his ACL not once, but twice and missed nearly two full NBA seasons. Rajon Rondo, Iman Shumpert also had the same terrible fate. And there is a long list of other players who have spent most of their time in business suits than in basketball jerseys.

Kevin Ware

Kevin Ware’s horrific injury

On a similar note, Paul George’s injury reminds all of us so much about Louisville University’s Kevin Ware’s injury last year in March 2013. During one of the games in the 2013 NCAA Elite Eight between Louisville and Duke, Ware had an injury that would go down as one of the most horrific injuries in sports history. That was one of the saddest moments you could ever see in sports. It was really scary. Especially for anybody who plays basketball. Because the way it happened, it just doesn’t make sense. If you haven’t watched the footage of Kevin Ware’s injury, you can find videos and pictures of it on the Internet . I don’t really recommend doing that.

But there was just no way for me to avoid it. It was all around the news and I got my friends sending me videos of it. So I saw it. And I wish I didn’t see it. Even when I went to sleep, I just couldn’t get my mind off of that incident. Because the way it happened was the saddest part. He didn’t even collide with anybody. It was not like he was going for a dunk and somebody fouled him hard and he fell awkwardly and then it happened. He just jumped to contest a shot. There was nobody there. And when he landed, his shin just popped! He fractured his leg in the most shocking way possible. Everybody in the stadium broke down into tears. Nobody really knew what to do. Soon a stretcher was sent with a team of medical experts and he was carried off to the hospital.

As a guy who plays basketball regularly, I’ve never broken anything in my life. I had minor fractures here and there but nothing major. So I cannot imagine the amount of pain that he had to go through after that happened. And the most amazing thing here was that after he fractured his leg, he told his teammates to win the game! That was incredible to me. After he was taken to the hospital, the game resumed and his team, the Louisville Cardinals did win the game. Building on that same inspiration, they went on to win the tournament too. Ware had a long rehab and recovery program. By God’s grace he recovered from that and guess what? He started playing basketball again! He is still playing.

One must be mentally strong as well

Now mentally, these kinds of injuries are really difficult to come back from. Because when players are recovering, the way they were injured lingers in their minds and haunts them. You can see them questioning their movements after coming back from the injury. Sometimes they even lose confidence in their abilities.

For example, Derrick Rose was very cautious about his movements while working out during rehab when he was recovering from his torn ACL injury. Rose was seen dunking by jumping with the help of his leg that wasn’t injured and landing on that same leg that wasn’t injured. He was not mentally ready to use his surgically repaired leg (the leg with the repaired ACL in fact).

The point is that when Paul George comes back from his injury, it would be interesting to see how he recovers mentally. Physically, he could be fine. You see, he got injured while contesting a shot. So when he comes back would he be hesitant to contest shots as instinctively as he did before his injury? We don’t know. So if he is hopefully able to recover and get back from that injury he can confidently make plays like he usually does.

If you were Paul George...

Now I have a couple of questions for you. If you were Paul George, do you think you can come back fully recovered physically and mentally from such an injury? Would you be comfortable playing basketball again? I don’t know if I could. Because now I am looking at my own legs and thinking – “Should I jump around like that?” Even though it is so rare and you don’t see such injuries happening. But to see with your own eyes...It is bad for the brain. It really is.

My prayers go toward Paul George and his family. As talented as a player he is, he does not deserve to go through this. Let us wish him a speedy recovery.

Now see what Paul George is really capable of doing when he is healthy. You would definitely watch this over and over again. I am sure of that.