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Injuries happen all the time in sports. Whether it’s as simple as a scratch or as bad as a torn ACL, athletes get injured all the time. Some injuries are just the price that the athletes pay for what they do, but there are those that ruin not just the careers of the athletes but in some way their lives. Following are the 10 Most Horrid Injuries in NBA History.

10. Jamal Crawford sprains his neck

In 2003, when Jamal Crawford was a member of the Bulls, he was guarding a Minnesota Timberwolves player when he went up for the ball. He ended up landing on the back of the player, rolling down and landing with full force on his neck and the back of his head. His legs went over his head and he crumpled over on the ground in pain. Again, this is one of those injuries where you don’t have to wait for a replay and where the arena went silent for a minute. Medics put a brace over his neck and he was taken out on a stretcher after lying down motionless for a few minutes.

9. Joel Przybilla ruptures patella

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pKaBW99GgY

Former NBA player Joel Przybilla ruptured his Patella tendon in 2009 against the Mavericks. The Portland Trail Blazers center came down from a rebound and landed on his knee awkwardly, highlighting how easily someone can severely injure themselves. The camera didn’t get a good view of the injury itself, but it did pick up the aftermath, as Pryzbilla bounced on the floor and quickly grabbed his knee.

8. Greg Oden knee injury

Oden’s brief NBA career has been tarnished by injuries, most notably coming early in his second season. In December of 2009, a teammate bumped into Oden, sending him falling to the ground. It turned out that the fall broke Oden’s kneecap. That’s all it took. The already injury-prone player would miss the rest of the season and subsequently all of the following season due to an unspecified β€œsetback”. Oden went through a myriad of surgeries over the years and didn’t play again until the 2013-2014 season with the Miami Heat, after which he was cut and hasn’t played since.

7. Baron Davis’s career-ending knee injury

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qqYwgFt_fY

Back in 2012, Baron Davis was a key player on the New York Knicks. They managed to make it to play playoffs and faced the eventual champions Miami Heat. In Game 4, the Knicks only win in the series, Baron Davis grabbed a rebound and marched up the court. He tried to take a shot, but as he extended his arms, his knee buckled and he went down. The injury didn’t look too bad at first, but replays showed his knee buckle inward as his foot stayed planted on the court. Davis was cut by the team in the offseason and was still rehabbing as late as 2014. The injury was the end of his career, as he’s never played a second in the NBA again.

6. Joe Johnson face injury

During Game 3 of the second round of the 2005 playoffs against the Mavericks, Phoenix Suns’ Joe Johnson fell on his face. He went up for a contested dunk where he got hit by Jerry Stackhouse and directly landed on his face. Though Johnson got up to shoot his free throws, he could not continue. He ended up undergoing orbital fracture surgery.

5. Andrew Bogut’s 2010 elbow injury

In April 2010, Andrew Bogut dislocated his elbow while taking on the Phoenix Suns. Bogut caught a fast-break pass and tried for a dunk when Amare Stoudemire came up from behind. Though Bogut tried to brace his fall, he broke his arm badly in the process and suffered from a dislocated elbow, fractured right hand, and sprained wrist. Andrew takes the 5th spot on this 10 Most Horrid Injuries in NBA History list.

4. Derrick Rose tore his ACL

What would become the first of several season-ending injuries, Derrick Rose went for a lay-up in a playoff game against the 76ers in 2012, when in mid-air his legs went for a little dance. Rose landed in an ugly way and stumbled around for a bit as if he were still trying to play. He tore his left ACL that day and ended up missing the entire following season.

3. Gordon Hayward injury in his first game for the Celtics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5d5YqERjBA

Halfway through the first period of NBA 2017-18’s regular-season opener between Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, Gordon Hayward’s leg twisted underneath him as he fell while trying to catch an alley-oop pass. His ankle snapped and Hayward had yelled in horror after looking at his leg. Hayward had been diagnosed with a dislocated ankle and fractured tibia.

2. Shaun Livingston 2007 knee injury

Livingston tried for a layup and did not time his landing properly. His leg snapped, and he suffered from a torn ACL, PCL, torn lateral meniscus, a badly sprained MCL, and dislocation of the Patella and tibia-fibulae joint. Due to the injuries’ gruesome nature, the NBA did not show the entire clip on TV. At first, the doctors even suggested that the leg should be amputated. Livingston took over eight months to start walking and ended up making a return to the NBA.

1. Paul George’s 2014 USA scrimmage injury

In a scrimmage practice game for Team USA in 2014, Paul George went up to block James Harden’s lay-up. He ended up getting hit and slammed into the basketball net’s pole. He hit it like a sack of potatoes and landed with a thud. This being a practice game, play immediately stopped as everyone rushed to see if he was okay. He wasn’t. Replays show George’s ankle bending at a 90-degree angle, snapping clean in half. Paul George has surely earned his spot on this 10 Most Horrid Injuries in NBA History list.

I fell in love with the game of basketball at 15 years old. I am an avid fan of the Chicago Bulls as I am from the windy city! This blog was created as a side hobby during my sophomore year in college and I have stuck with it ever since. I do hope you enjoy the content and please be sure to follow us on Facebook and never miss a post!

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