Jon Scheyer eye injury explained: How a career-ending incident changed his basketball career forever

Jon Scheyer is the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils basketball team. He has led the team to a Final Four appearance in the 2025 March Madness tournament, and the team looks like the favorite to win it all. Before he was a coach, Scheyer was a player. He played for the Duke Blue Devils from 2006 to 2010 and had a brief professional career.

Unfortunately, Scheyer suffered an eye injury that shortened his professional career. After signing to Miami's Summer League team the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in 2019, Scheyer suffered an eye injury. He would go on to play three seasons but retired after he couldn't get back to his form before his eye injury.

How did Jon Scheyer's eye injury happen?

In his second Summer League game with Rio Grande, Scheyer was poked in the right eye by Warriors guard Joe Ingles. Ingles tried to swipe at the ball and inadvertently poked Scheyer in the eye. It turned out to be a serious injury as it resulted in a retinal tear and traumatic optic nerve avulsion. The latter affects vision, so, Scheyer is now legally blind in his right eye.

Scheyer recovered from the injury as best he could and eventually returned to the court with protective goggles. He went overseas after the incident, playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv and Gran Canaria. However, he opted to retire following the 2013 season because his eye injury severely limited his playing ability.

Why was Jon Scheyer not drafted?

Jon Scheyer not getting drafted had nothing to do with his eye injury, as that happened after he went undrafted. Scheyer battled mononucleosis in late May before the draft and thus missed the NBA combine. Although he participated in workouts with 10 teams, he was not drafted.

Did Jon Scheyer ever recover fully from the eye injury?

Although Jon Scheyer has a relatively normal life, he never fully recovered from his eye injury. He is now legally blind in his right eye. In 2023, he spoke about how he quickly shifted his mindset:

"At some point, I don’t know if it was afterwards or before, Chris Bosh said he’s going to Miami. So I’m thinking, ‘Man, I’m gonna be teammates with LeBron. This is amazing!’ The first game of Summer League, I hit the game-winning shot. The second game, I got poked in the eye and immediately lost all eyesight.

It was kind of a crazy deal. To this day I haven’t regained that vision, because it’s an optic nerve injury."

Although Scheyer did not get to have the playing career he hoped for, he is now a successful college coach.