There are few people who can relate to what Gordon Hayward experienced when he suffered a gruesome ankle injury on opening night, Paul George is one of those people.
During a Team USA intrasquad scrimmage in 2014, George fell awkwardly into the basket stanchion while trying to block a fast-break layup. George suffered a fractured tibia and fibula in his right leg. Because of the graphic nature of the injury, the scrimmage was stopped midgame and canceled, although it was airing live on national TV.
"It just brought me back to Vegas and when it happened to me, my incident," George said Wednesday. "Immediately I felt devastated. I was like nauseous watching it, just going back to that place. Immediately after it happened I texted Gordon. We talked last night. I just tried to give him words of encouragement, just tried to be there for him."
Both George and Hayward received a lot of support from players around the league and from athletes in other sports. George says it was helpful to his recovery.
"I think we do a great job as players to kind of pick one another up," he said. "At the end of the day, man, this is a brotherhood, and we genuinely care for everybody's health. Health is most important. I've been there. I know what that outreach did for me, so I wanted to be there for Gordon in his time of need and help pick him up. Hopefully, I can be one of the best influences, going through that."
It was unclear if George would ever return back to his prior form, but he says, "I think I'm better than what I was," despite some of his self-described limitations. George underwent surgery and returned to the floor less than a year later in April of 2015, appearing in six games at the end of the season. He played 81 games in the 2015-16 season, averaging a then career-high 23.1 points per game, before upping that to 23.7 points per game in 75 games last season. He was also named to the All-Star team in both seasons.
George's story and support will hopefully aid Hayward in his recovery.
Source: Twitter
