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Kyrie Irving – NBA rookie of year, breaks right hand
Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers. PHOTO/Danny Johnston/AP
Kyrie Irving, the NBA’s reigning rookie of the year, broke his right hand during the Cavaliers’ practice on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Irving will return to Cleveland to be examined by team doctors Sunday and said he likely will undergo surgery. The Cavaliers said in a release Saturday night that they expect Irving, their leading scorer last season who recently dazzled during scrimmages against the U.S. Olympic team, to be ready for the start of training camp in late September. However, the team said it will not have a timeline for Irving’s return until after he is examined.
The team said Irving injured his hand slapping the padding on a wall at the team’s practice site. The injury occurred after Irving committed a turnover toward the end of the morning practice. Irving was in Las Vegas practicing with Cleveland’s summer league team.
“It was just a freak accident,” said Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft.
Irving’s injury is a tough blow for the 20-year-old, who recently wowed observers during workouts against the American team headed to the London Olympic Games.
Irving also had made headlines by challenging Kobe Bryant to a game of 1-on-1 with the loser promising to pay US$50,000 to the winner’s charity — a video of Bryant and Irving engaging in trash talk has become a hit on the Internet.
“I am a little disappointed,” Irving told reporters. “I have to be more responsible about my health. It was just crazy. It happened so fast.”
