Basketball News: Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat is out until at least mid-January after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured ligament in his right thumb.
It’s Adebayo’s first severe injury in his five pro seasons, putting an end to a season in which he’s averaging a career-high 18.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game for Miami.
Adebayo, an Olympic gold medallist this summer, was injured in Monday’s loss to Denver before examinations revealed he had damaged the ulnar collateral ligament on Tuesday and Wednesday.
After the game, he dismissed the injury, claiming it was nothing.
“I’m fine,” he stated.
He turned out to be anything but.
His comeback plan will not be finalised until after his surgery, which is slated for Sunday, however, the team’s initial estimate is that he will be out for six weeks.
Adebayo would miss between 20 and 25 games in such a short period of time.
It’s a major setback for Miami, which already has a weakened frontcourt due to Markieff Morris’ neck ailment. Morris has already missed 12 games after being injured in a fight with Nikola Jokic in Denver last month, and there is no timetable for his return.
Dewayne Dedmon is the only other big man on Miami’s roster who has played centre this season in significant amounts. Udonis Haslem, 41, and P.J. Tucker, a 6-foot-5 power forward, are among the Heat’s potential options for the position.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Adebayo was one of three players who started all six games for the United States, which won gold. At the Games, he led the squad in rebounds with 5.7 per game and averaged 6.3 points on 57% shooting.
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