In a USA Basketball showdown on Friday night, Indiana Pacers star Paul George felt his right leg snap after coming down from a jump to block a shot from opponent James Harden. USA Basketball coach Mike Kryzyzewski canceled the rest of the game after George’s injury, which only had 9:33 left.
Paul George later tweeted from his account that he looks to make a full recovery, writing on his Twitter wall “Thanks everybody for the love and support…I’ll be ok and be back better than ever!! Luv y’all!!” Other basketball stars such as Lebron James, James Harden (his opponent on the court in the injury), Kevin Durant, and Kevin Ware. Kevin Ware experienced a similar injury while playing with the Louisville Cardinals in a 2013 NCAA quarterfinal against Duke University.
Indiana Pacers President, NBA Hall of Famer, and former Celtics Forward Larry Bird issued a statement on behalf of the incident: “At this time our thoughts and prayers are with Paul. We are still gathering details and will have an updated statement Saturday.”
Apparently, Paul George’s incident may indicate a larger problem with the basetball court layout. Former North Carolina Men’s College Basketball player Ty Lawson said in his statement that “I’ve been saying the backstop of the basket should be pushed back further.”