Pistons' Jaden Ivey suffers serious injury hidden from crowd

Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey on Wednesday, January 1, suffered a leg injury so horrific that his teammates hid it from the fans in attendance.

In the fourth quarter of the Pistons' game against the Orlando Magic at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, the 22-year-old Ivey's left leg got stuck under the Magic's. Cole Anthony while both players are chasing a loose ball.

Ivey immediately ended up on the floor in absolute agony as he was attended to by the Pistons medical staff. Eventually, one of Ivy's teammates grabbed a towel from the bench to cover his leg, and the rest of the team circled him.

There was a stretcher used to take Ivy off the field as the arena watched it in hushed silence. Ivey's teammate, Auzar Thompsonwas seen wiping away tears.

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Sources told ESPN on Thursday, Jan. 2, Ivey suffered a fractured fibula in his left leg and will likely miss the rest of the season.

“It's hard. It's hard for all of us,” the Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff said after the game. “There is no better teammate, no better person than JI No one cares more about this than he does. It's hard to see. ”

Bickerstaff, 45, added: “At the heart of this team, and what we've tried to preach all year since we've been here, is togetherness. If one guy goes down, you don't want to let him down, so everyone else has to step up. Again, it's the emotion, it's the human aspect, but I think our guys did a really good job of sticking together and getting it done.

Piston star Cade Cunningham said Ivy's injury was “tough on the whole group”.

“It's hard for us to see him hurt,” Cunningham, 23, told reporters. “He's built for it, he'll come back knowing him. He'll work his tail off and he'll be better than ever when he comes back. It's hard to see, of course.”

After the injury, Cunningham explained that he gathered the team for “prayer.”

“Just wanted to get together and talk about it and make sure everyone is on the same page about what we need to do from here,” Cunningham said.

Ivey, who was selected fifth overall by the Pistons in the 2022 NBA draft, averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

The Pistons return to action on Friday, January 3 against the Charlotte Hornets.