New York Knicks rookie Immanuel Quickley suffered a hip pointer on Wednesday in the season opener versus the Indiana Pacers and was ruled out of returning to the game, the team announced.
Quickley logged 12 minutes prior to suffering the injury in the first half, recording five points in his debut. The injury appeared to occur without contact after Quickley came up holding his hip trying to chase a rebound on defense.
The 25th overall pick exited the game following the play and went to the bench to get checked out by a trainer. He eventually went back to the locker room before he was ruled out of returning to the game.
Immanuel Quickley ends that play holding his lower back/hip area. Not sure what happened there but looked like he hurt it without contact. The Knicks rookie was grimacing during the play and is getting worked on by a Knicks trainer. pic.twitter.com/A3mgP1qRIN
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) December 24, 2020
Quickley had been on track to receive the bulk of the point guard minutes over the likes of Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina prior to the injury. Once Quickley exited, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau turned to Alec Burks and Julius Randle in a non-guard lineup.
After a strong preseason, the Knicks will certainly hope that the injury to Quickley is not serious and that he can return to the floor sooner rather than later. The Knicks have high hopes for this season and Quickley figures to be a key player in his rookie year.
[lawrence-related id=25382,25163,25139]
[listicle id=25267]