In June 2020, Rodney Hood had told how, following his rupture of the Achilles tendon, he had contacted other players who had experienced this misadventure: Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins and Wesley Matthews.
A few months later, the latter had confided that Kobe Bryant had called him outright, after his injury, to exchange with him. A small brotherhood was formed between these players who had all gone through this ordeal.
Today, it is Jamal Murray who knows this very special experience. Since his cruciate ligament rupture in April 2021, the Nuggets playmaker has made contact with other major injuries in the past. Klay Thompson for example, who suffered from the same injury in June 2019, during the Finals.
“To begin with, I told him I was sorry”explains the back of Golden State, who has just returned to competition, for the Denver Post. “I hate to see this. He’s so important to the Nuggets and he was having his best years. Since he is a competitor, I told him that if he put that energy into his daily tasks, for his knee, he would return to the All-Star level. “
“After all, we are only 400 players in this league, we have to look after each other, otherwise who will do it for us? ”
Another player who was not spared by injuries: Victor Oladipo. The returning Miami fullback had two right quadriceps tendon surgeries and reached out to Jamal Murray on Instagram. Then, the two players spoke on the phone, before meeting.
“I was a fan of his for a while”says the former Pacers. “We have friends in common in the league. I wanted to contact him to give him some rehabilitation advice, just to tell him that it was mainly mental. We had to believe that we could return to our best level. He was very open to learning, he didn’t hesitate to ask me questions. “
Victor Oladipo feels like he couldn’t help but help Jamal Murray through these tough times. “I did my best, it was my duty, an obligation. After all, we are only 400 players in this league, we have to look after each other, otherwise who will do it for us? No one can understand us better than other players. “
Last witness, Zach LaVine. The Bulls guard, who was then playing in Minnesota, had ruptured the cruciate ligament of the knee in March 2017. He was broke in the middle of the season, which was his best in his career at that time.
The two-time dunk contest winner first sent a simple, short text to Jamal Murray – “ it will work for you – before discussing it further with him afterwards.
“I took stock with him after six months. I remembered rehab, so asked him how much he lifted in weight training and how he ate. Because that’s all we do: eat and lift weights. I am there for him. It’s a brotherhood, really. “
