Written by: Tristan Wentworth

355 Words

The NBA community as a whole sends thoughts and prayers out to Gordon Hayward for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

5 and a half minutes into his career as a Boston Celtic Hayward went up for a lob on Lebron… one of his legs got caught underneath him and the weight of his own body fractured his tibia and dislocated his ankle.

The arena held its breath

NBA players sent their condolences

When asked about the moment Reggie Miller  said “you could hear the whispers amongst 18,000… you saw Dwyane Wade kneeling and praying and guys were in tears.”  “At the end of the day we are brothers in arms, safety and his well-being is first and foremost.”

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Hayward was a two-sport athlete.  In high school he competed for the tennis state championship finishing his senior year with a stellar 26-3 record.  An unexpected growth spurt in high school saw him sprout from 5′ 11″ to 6′ 8″ in 3 short years putting him on the map for division I colleges.

In the NBA Hayward has shown nothing but class as a soft-spoken superstar.  Hayward has always remained humble despite his reputation as one of the premier two-way wings in the league.  For the first 7 years of his career, Gordon increased his production in all major statistics and his scoring jumped from 5 ppg as a rookie to 22 ppg last year.

After signing Hayward as a free agent this past summer, the Celtics looked to be a legitimate contender in the East.  However, now, with his future in question, the young Celtics nucleus will have to be resilient as ever and find ways to win…

Kyrie will handle the load offensively for Brad Stevens, but perhaps even more pressure is on second year stud Jaylen Brown, and rookie Jayson Tatum to step up in Hayward’s absence.

We hate to see any person get hurt like that, but it was a chance for the NBA community to show what it’s all about…

Get Well Gordon!