Perhaps the nastiest pinky finger injury you can imagine.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt had to be rushed to the locker room during the second quarter of the Thunder’s 108-90 victory over the Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night after suffering a full dislocation of his right pinkie, according to ESPN.
Vanderbilt was attempting to block a shot but hit the backboard with his right hand, and his pinky finger injury was so bad that it appeared that the bone broke skin during the dislocation.
He needed stitches postgame.
When Oklahoma City’s players saw the nasty injury, since it happened in front of their bench, their facial expressions brought back memories of former Louisville player Kevin Ware during the 2013 NCAA Tournament suffering a gruesome compound fracture of his leg in front of the opposing sideline.
This one, while not as gruesome as that, certainly made the Thunder bench jump, as star forward Jalen Williams looked at his teammates in shock after his first glimpse.
Vanderbilt departed the game after playing six minutes, having scored just two points, in a big blow to the Lakers since he’s one of their only defensive stoppers.
Los Angeles may be without Vanderbilt for the rest of the series.
“I had to go check on him because it just looked bad,” Lakers coach J.J. Redick said. “I mean, he was audibly screaming, and you knew he had done something.
“So, we’re obviously disappointed that happened. It’s just a freak injury.”
LeBron James, who was doing his best to steal Game 1 on Tuesday night, lamented losing Vanderbilt.
“He’s in as good spirits as you can be in this situation,” said James, who led the Lakers with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting. “Obviously, frustrated with what happened.”
“He’s tough as nails,” James added. “If Vando was in pain, then something actually really happened. So, it sucks.”
Vanderbilt will not have much time to get ready for Game 2 on Thursday, and the Lakers are already hoping star Luka Doncic can return during the series in their quest to pull the upset.
