This is part of the Sameer Jhaveri NBA Special – a column that will bring you the latest news and highlights of the NBA season. This edition focuses on the recent ACL injury of Celtics’ All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo and what the impact of an ACL injury has on an NBA player.
By Sameer Jhaveri ’15
ACL. The 3 most despised letters to an NBA player. Around 9 days ago, Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo tore his ACL in a double overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks, ending his play for the rest of the season.
Just recently, Rondo was selected as the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, averaging a league high 11.1 assists per game. He held that average about 1.4 assists higher than any other point guard in the league. He ended his year with a triple double in the loss against the Hawks. One of five he had this season. Rondo has only competed in 38 games this year, the lowest he has ever played in a season.
Kevin Garnett, Rondo’s closest friend on the team, told ESPN, “[Rondo is] becoming the heart and soul of this team. He’s coming into his own. Had some bumps in the road, but we’re just trying to be supportive for him.”
The tear of an ACL is most harmful to point guards in particular over any other position. The two most vital aspects of an ACL is its way of providing quickness and vertical ability to an athlete. Most players who tear their ACL lose those aspects of their athleticism forever.
Take retired point guard Tim Hardaway, for example. Hardaway was one of many NBA players to tear his ACL during the midst of his career, and was one of the league’s top point guards at the time. He is remembered for his deadly and explosive crossover and his ability to drive to the basket on even the tightest defenders. But in March of 1993, Hardaway went up for a layup against the Los Angeles Lakers, on which he tore his ACL, and was forced to miss the entire next season.
Most athletes that tear their ACL need at least 7-9 months to recover. In this long period of time many athletes go through depression and let the thought of “Will I ever be the same?” get into their heads. For some players, the injury is just too much and puts them out of the game forever.
Take Billy Cunningham, a star small forward in the NBA and ABA from ’65-’75. Cunningham averaged a career total 20.8 points per game in the NBA. He was a strong contributor to the Philadelphia 76ers, but had his career cut short in December of 1975. Other players like Jamaal Wilkes and Doug Collins had their careers cut short due to this devastating injury, as well.
Former 6th man of the year Jamal Crawford also tore his ACL during the off season of 2001 playing a pick-up game with Michael Jordan and other pros in Chicago. Crawford told the Chicago Tribune, “Basketball is always an escape. When it’s gone, you have so much time to think. I remember reading about other players and almost crying. You go through all these bad thoughts: ‘Why did this happen to me?”
Both Crawford and Hardaway returned from the injury, but were never able to play like they used to. Hardaway ended up averaging less rebounds, points, assists, and steals the year after his ACL tear. He also made it to the free throw line less than the year before and took more 3-point attempts per game.
Hardaway made it clear that the injury took a toll on his ability to drive to the basket and make it to the free throw line. But Crawford found it differently. Crawford actually averaged more points, assists, steals and rebounds the year after.
However, the year Crawford tore his ACL was his rookie year, playing just seventeen minutes per game, and hand’t reached his full potential. So we probably never got to see what Jamal Crawford could have brought to the table.
