Andrew Wiggins missed the Golden State Warriors‘ final game and the reason for his absence has become part of the NBA‘s most absurd injury list as the forward caught his index finger while closing his car door.
The accident should not keep him away from the courts for long. In fact, he came to try out with the intention of playing against the Los Angeles Clippers, but the pain he felt prevented him from doing so.
This is an everyday occurrence that is far from being the most surreal injury in NBA history. The truth is that there are all kinds of anecdotes. Some funny and others so serious that they cost their protagonists retirement. Here are some of them.
Jeremy Lin’s ‘killer’ crest
There was a time when Jeremy Lin, who lived some glory days in the NBA playing for the New York Knicks, sported a mohawk as spectacular as it was dangerous. It showed when he made a drive to the basket and rammed Jerryd Bayless. Lin’s hair, sharp and hard because of the hairspray he was using, stabbed his opponent’s eye.
Charles Barkley poured body lotion in his eyes
During the 93-94 season, Charles Barkley, then a Pheonix Suns star, attended an Eric Clapton concert. The lights began to bother his eyes, and all he could do for relief was to rub some body lotion he was wearing. The damage to his corneas caused him to miss a game.
Barkley also injured Kevin Johnson, his Suns teammate, in the shoulder when he gave him a hug.
Andrew Bynum, the Playboy Mansion and bowling
Andrew Bynum, center of the Los Angeles Lakers, was called to mark an era in the NBA, but the knee problems with which he already came to the NBA ended his career. He didn’t do his part.
Instead of recovering well, he went on vacation to the World Cup in South Africa. He was also a regular at the Playboy mansion, where he was seen carrying ‘bunnies’ on his shoulders. The final straw was that he aggravated his injury by bowling.
Michael Jordan’s cigars
Not even the greatest player of all time has dodged absurd injuries. One of Michael Jordan‘s passions is cigars and one day they played a dirty trick on him. He cut a tendon in the index finger of his right hand while using a cigar cutter. He needed six weeks to recover from surgery.
Derrick Rose slept with a knife
Derrick Rose, in his first NBA season playing for the Chicago Bulls, suffered a cut on his elbow. When he told how it happened, the team freaked out.
He took an apple to bed and after peeling it left the knife next to him. Then he got up to get a bottle of water, put his elbow on the mattress and stuck it in. The gnarly cut required several stitches to close.
Gilbert Arenas’ genital waxing
In his first season in the NBA, Gilbert Arenas received a tip from the Warriors’ veterans: to shave his private parts. The point guard used a razor belonging to his girlfriend, but it was rusty and irritated the area badly.
The franchise doctor recommended a cream that left his crotch raw and gave him a terrible itch. He found relief in an analgesic spray that he used for a month so he could train.
A Game Boy addict
Lionel Simmons, a rookie with the Sacramento Kings in 1991, got his hands on a Game Boy, which had been released two years earlier. His addiction to the little machine was such that he developed tendinitis in his wrist and forearm, which caused him to be out of action for several games.
The ice bag that retired BJ Tyler
To finish, one between legend and reality. BJ Tyler was an electric point guard who played one season for the Philadelphia 76ers. The franchise put him in the expansion draft before the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies (then in Vancouver).
He was chosen by Toronto to be Damon Stoudamire’s understudy. But Tyler would never make his NBA debut or play again.
To alleviate the discomfort he felt in his knee, he put on an ice pack and fell asleep. The prolonged effect of the cold caused irreversible damage to some of the nerves in his knee, forcing him to retire.