CJ McCollum Scheduling Surgery Next Week
NEW ORLEANS- CJ McCollum felt the pain last night, mentally and physically. The NBPA President missed the NBA Playoffs for the first time in his career and has been dealing with a thumb injury since before the NBA All-Star break. McCollum revealed surgery should have happened "three months ago" but is being scheduled for "next week."
“It (my thumb) affected my play a lot. I probably will need surgery next week. I needed the surgery three months ago. I delayed it to try and help our team get to the playoffs and we came up short. I hurt my shoulder, that’s why I was playing with the long sleeve on. I will get that looked at as well on Monday. I was doing what I could to try and help out the team to give us positive contributions. I would like to have played better tonight," McCollum admitted.
And that's not all. The Athletic's Will Guillory reports, “Along with his injured thumb, CJ McCollum played the final seven games of the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder."
Apr 12, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) dribbles against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
McCollum played in 75 games despite the discomfort. The soon to be 32 year old is owed approximately $36 million next year and is under contract through the 2025-26 season. Still, with the season on the line, McCollum "gave it everything I could but now we'll go back to the doctors and see what I have to do to get ready for next season."
If the labrum requires surgery as well, Johns Hopkins guide to shoulder surgeries states, "the recovery depends upon many factors, such as where the tear was located, how severe it was and how good the surgical repair was. It is believed that it takes at least four to six weeks for the labrum to reattach itself to the rim of the bone, and probably another four to six weeks to get strong. Once the labrum has healed to the rim of the bone, it should see stress very gradually so that it can gather strength. It is important not to reinjure it while it is healing."
As for the plan going forward with this team's current core, "It's hard to say what we need to do other than injury stuff because we only played ten games together. I would say availability is important. We have to be available and do what we need to do off the court in terms of preparation, sleep, and hydration, everything has to matter to us.”
