Former Hoosier Thomas Bryant Tears ACL, Will Miss NBA Season
The Washington Wizards announced Sunday that starting center Thomas Bryant, a former Indiana University star, partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a game on Saturday night is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Bryant went to the floor early in the game against Miami on Saturday. He was writhing in pain and smacked the court in anger with his hand before being helped to the locker room.
It's a disappointing injury for the 23-year-old Bryant, who was really coming into his own with the Wizards. He was averaging a career-high 14.3 points and was shooting a career-high 65 percent from the field and 43 percent from three in 27.1 minutes per game. He averaged 6.1 rebounds.
“TB is a huge part of what we do on both ends of the floor, and he's been playing big for us,” Washington backup center Robin Lopez said after Saturday's game. “He's been playing big for us. We love having him on the floor. I love playing with him.”
Bryant's injury comes at a bad time too, because the Wizards' roster is very thin right now.
Player development is critical in the NBA and In each of Bryant's three NBA seasons, he has improved his scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks totals every single season.
Bryant and the Wizards were expecting another big jump this season. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound center works as hard as anyone during his off time, and he was looking forward to playing with two stars in Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook.
