David Nwaba suffered an Achilles injury in the fourth quarter of Brooklyn’s 118-105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. Multiple reports indicate the Nets wing tore his Achilles, which would end his season. He could receive surgery as early as Friday.
Though no one was sure of the injury Nwaba suffered initially, the fact there was no contact which led to his collapse around the perimeter made clear the severity of the situation.
His teammates were struck by what they saw on the court, and Nwaba was still on their mind after the loss, as Joe Harris explained to reporters in San Antonio:
You never want to see that, one of your brothers. He’s part of the Nets family. It’s unfortunate. You think about all the time and work you put in together, how hard he’s worked. You never want to see that happen. … you never want to see injuries like that happen where it’s something significant like that. It makes guys emotional. It’s tough on everybody. And, obviously, that’s where our hearts and minds are at right now, with David. Hoping it’s not severe as they think.
Garrett Temple expressed a similar sentiment to Harris, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
That’s just bad, man. Great guy, worked hard to get in the league, been playing the best he’s played since he’s been in the NBA. For him to go down like that, it’s just tough. My heart goes out to him, prayers go up for him.
Temple continued:
Everybody walked up to him when we walked in here and told him what they wanted to say to him individually. Then coach came in and said what everybody was thinking: We’re not really worried about the game. Right now we’re worried about our brother.”
Spencer Dinwiddie felt similar, but he also looked at what this now means for the Nets:
You just keep preparing. It’s next man up. Odds are we’ll probably get Shump back, which will be cool. But you never want it to happen in this way, especially with Dave catching a rhythm, playing so well and being so dynamic. It’s not cool, it’s not fun.
Brooklyn's behind you, @dnwaba0. pic.twitter.com/UjCarWpG14
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 20, 2019