Getty Dinwiddie celebrates during a matchup against the Boston Celtics in 2019.
Last week the Brooklyn Nets announced that their starting shooting guard Spencer Dinwiddie would be out for the remainder of the season with a partially torn ACL. Dinwiddie, a second-round draft pick out of The University of Colorado has increased his scoring average every year since he entered the league in 2014. Many expected Dinwiddie to leap superstardom after averaging a career-high 20.6 points per game last year, which made his injury an even tougher pill to swallow for the Nets. Dinwiddie however, has not ruled out the possibility of returning to play this year.
Spencer Dinwiddie’s Surgery Was Successful
Spencer Dinwiddie underwent successful surgery to repair the partially torn ACL the Nets announced on Monday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Riley Williams III at the Hospital for Special Surgery and Dinwiddie is expected to make a full recovery.
MEDICAL UPDATE: Spencer Dinwiddie underwent successful anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery on his right knee this morning. Dinwiddie will begin rehabilitation next week and is expected to make a full recovery.
The Nets also announced that Spencer will start the rehab process on his knee next week. Dinwiddie however, shared a photo on his Instagram showing that he has already begun a rehab process of his own.
Dinwiddie’s Presence On The Court Has Been Missed
Dinwiddie suffered the injury last week in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets in just the third game of the season. The Nets have surely missed Dinwiddie’s contributions to the team as they have lost three out of their last four games since he went down. Nets players like all-star point guard Kyrie Irving have noticed the void and know that a player of Dinwiddie’s caliber will not be easy to replace. “Everyone likes to say this phrase ‘Next Man Up Mentality,’ but it’s hard to do that when we started off kind of the last few months together. And we have played together a certain type of style, and then we have one of our pieces go down,” Kyrie told reporters on Thursday. “It’s the tale of the business. Guys get hurt all the time. We have to figure out some things that work for the group that we put out there.”
Whether or not Dinwiddie will return this season is still up in the air. The Nets however have to put the possibility of a Dinwiddie return in the rearview. They have not been as good as advertised so far and their defense had been abysmal. They have allowed opponents to score at least 100 points in all but three games. If the Nets have any hope of having a deep playoff run Head Coach Steve Nash knows they have a lot of work to do on the defensive side of the ball. “As a young team without that common experience, I think it’s important that we just stick with it,” Nash told reporters during a zoom call on Saturday. “Stick with it and not lose confidence in our schemes or start to freelance or make it up. We’ve had a lot of success when we stick to it.”
Spencer Is Not Ruling Out 2021 Return
The average recovery time for a torn ACL is 9 months. However, given the pace of play in today’s NBA, players such as Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson elect to take a full year off to avoid re-injuring the ligament. Dinwiddie is built differently. He wants to get back on the court as soon as he can. Ideally, in time for a Nets’ championship run. “As we’ve seen before. Crazier things have happened,” Dinwiddie said in response to returning this year on a recent Instagram post. “If anything I’m excited because I’ve made a living off beating the odds.”
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