One of the greatest fears for any NBA teams with a player participating for Team USA is the likelihood of an injury. Unfortunately for Indianapolis Pacers small forward Paul George that is exactly what happened during a scrimmage tonight.
As George was hustling back to make a block on James Harden, his right leg slid underneath the basket resulting in many onlookers to look away as it was clear that he broke his leg. The injury forced the scrimmage to end early. Jerry Colangelo the Director of USA Basketball said “this is a very tough blow. It’s a first for us in USA basketball to have something like this take place. It’s a tough situation for our entire organization, our coaches and players are very, very emotional. There’s no way the game could have gone on under the circumstances.”
George’s parents were also in attendance and were on the court as he got attended to and Larry Bird also made a statement in regards to the injury.
Tweets poured in support of George including that of Kevin Ware who suffered a serious leg injury of his own while a member of the Louisville Cardinals.
Man..
— Kevin Ware (@5Juice) August 2, 2014
Statement from Larry Bird about Paul George: pic.twitter.com/xIRjSqxuwJ
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) August 2, 2014
Here are other reactions from Twitter:
Man just landed and got a message about @Paul_George24. Made me immediately sick to my stomach!! Praying for u a speedy recovery homie!!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 2, 2014
RT @MarkJonesESPN: All you need to know about seriousness of Paul George’s injury is I’m looking at Kyrie Irving sobbing in his Dad’s arms
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) August 2, 2014
Our thoughts are with you, @Paul_George24. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) August 2, 2014
God bless u my brother @Paul_George24. Im hurt, praying for you. Praying for peace. Praying that God heals you in a supernatural way.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 2, 2014