The Thunder Bench’s Reaction to Jarred Vanderbilt’s Finger Injury Tells Just How Nasty It Is

They had to turn to look away.

The Thunder bench couldn’t believe Jarred Vanderbilt’s pinky injury. | Hoop Central/Screengrab

A reaction can be very telling without anyone even saying a word.

This was the case during Tuesday night’s Game 1 of the Lakers vs. Thunder playoff series. Los Angeles forward Jarred Vanderbilt was defending Oklahoma City star Chet Holmgren as the latter went up for a dunk in the second quarter. Vanderbilt threw his right hand up towards the ball, but ended up hitting the backboard awkwardly. His right pinky finger bent and seemed to get jammed on the backboard, causing Vanderbilt to scream in pain. He held his hand on the court before getting help walking off.

Cameras caught the moment Vanderbilt walked to the Thunder sideline in severe pain, and the OKC players definitely didn’t mask their reaction to seeing his finger. Multiple players can be seen making shocked faces before turning to look away. Jared McCain specifically looked disgusted by Vanderbilt’s finger.

If anything, this Thunder bench reaction just proves how severe, and nasty, Vanderbilt’s finger injury is.

The Thunder bench reaction to Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury. 😬

(h/t @showtimeluka)

pic.twitter.com/Czo41GveyI

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 6, 2026

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Vanderbilt suffered a full dislocation of his right pinky finger. He was ruled out for the rest of the game. The team will likely share Vanderbilt’s status moving forward after the game. He is a lefty, and he sustained the injury on his right (non-shooting) hand, which is some slight good news for Los Angeles.

During five appearances off the bench in the first-round series vs. the Rockets, Vanderbilt played 66 minutes and scored 18 points with 22 rebounds and two assists.

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