Former 76ers Guard Dealing With Familiar Injury on Warriors

Former 76ers guard De'Anthony Melton is dealing with an injury.

Oct 23, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Golden State Warriors shooting guard De'Anthony Melton (8) dunks the ball during the second half against the Portland Trailblazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

During De’Anthony Melton’s second season with the Philadelphia 76ers, the veteran guard was sidelined with a back injury for the majority of the 2023-2024 NBA season.

Unfortunately, back issues have followed Melton to the Golden State Warriors.

On Monday, the Warriors announced injury updates regarding players like Stephen Curry and Melton. For the latter player, he’ll miss at least two games.

Warriors also announce De’Anthony Melton sustained a back injury and will miss the next two games. He’ll be re-evaluated Friday.

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) October 28, 2024

On Friday, Melton will be re-evaluated. He’s set to miss back-to-back matchups against the New Orleans Pelicans. If all goes well for his evaluation later this week, Melton might have the chance to face the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Apr 9, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard De'Anthony Melton (8) drives for a shot against the Detroit Pistons during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Back issues have plagued Melton during his two-year run in Philly. While he had the chance to appear in 77 games with the Sixers in 2022-2023, Melton had a nagging back issue he had to play through at times.

Last year, Melton’s back concerns forced him to miss time on multiple occasions. He missed a long stretch of games in January, returning to the court in late February.

Melton appeared in three matchups, going from a staring role to a reserve, and averaged less playing time. After those three games, Melton was ruled out for the first matchup of March. The Sixers didn’t see Melton on the court again until early April.

By the time Melton returned to the Sixers’ lineup, he had just three games to get back into shape before the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Melton played in two games before getting the season finale off. When the Sixers reached their first-round matchup against the New York Knicks, Melton was out of the rotation for all but one of the six games.

His final appearance with the Sixers came during Game 4 on April 28. Melton checked in for seven minutes during the five-point loss. He picked up DNPs in the final two postseason games.

Melton hit the free agency market this past summer. He signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Warriors for a reported $12.8 million. While Melton’s injury concerns were quite major in Philadelphia last season, a two-game timeline doesn’t seem too severe for the veteran guard.