Denver Nuggets Player Suffers Torn ACL

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In a game between Slovenia and Greece on Friday, Denver Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar suffered a scary injury after throwing down a dunk in transition. Cancar exited the game and did not return, and it has since been revealed by Mike Singer of The Denver Post that the Slovenian forward suffered a torn ACL on the play.
This is very tough news for Cancar, Slovenia, and the Nuggets. For Cancar, he was expected to have an opportunity to play himself into rotation minutes for the defending champions next season. With Denver losing key bench pieces in free agency, Cancar was one of the internal options that could have filled a bigger role than he did in previous years.
The injury certainly did not look good when it occurred, but there was hope that Cancar avoided the worst possible outcome after he was seen limping out of the arena under his own power. That unfortunately seems to not be the case, as an ACL tear is what has been reported.
While this is a big blow for both Slovenia and the Nuggets, it's the impact on Cancar himself that makes this news so tough. A 2nd round pick in 2017, Cancar had received very limited playing time up until last season when he appeared in 60 games for Denver. Hoping to get even more minutes next season, Cancar will likely be out for the year.
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Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.