With the Los Angeles Lakers likely facing a difficult season as they try to compete in a tough Western Conference, many Lakers fans had identified rookie forward Julius Randle as one of the few potential bright spots to focus on for the campaign ahead. That bright spot dimmed Wednesday, as the former Kentucky star and No. 7 overall pick suffered a broken right tibia during the fourth quarter of the Lakers' opening night loss to the Houston Rockets.
With just under seven minutes remaining in a game the Rockets led comfortably, Randle faced up against Rockets big man Donatas Motiejunas at the right elbow and drove right to the basket. As he leapt to attempt a shot, his left foot hit the back of his right leg; Randle collided with Rockets center Tarik Black in mid-air, lost the ball in the process, and appeared to be favoring his right leg before he even came down.
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As play moved down to the other end of the court, Randle stayed seated in pain on the baseline beneath the L.A. basket. Lakers head athletic trainer Gary Vitti rushed over to attend to the 19-year-old, and star guard Kobe Bryant — who's had enough experience with this sort of thing in the past two years to last a lifetime — leaned down to try to calm the panicked rookie.
The medical staff immobilized Randle's right leg in an air cast as players from both teams gathered around. Shortly thereafter, Randle's teammates lifted him off the court onto a stretcher, and he was carried off the floor.
Rachel Nichols reported during TNT's broadcast that the Lakers feared Randle had broken his right leg. After the game, and after Randle had undergone X-rays on the right leg, Lakers head coach Byron Scott confirmed the tibia fracture.
"Obviously, the last four or five minutes of the game were not very important to us," Scott told Nichols in a post-game interview. "It was more important to kind of really feel where he was and how he felt. I had the chance to talk to him briefly. We just all feel bad, you know? A young, promising player, and unfortunately, the first game of the season, he gets an injury."
Asked what Randle said when Scott spoke with him, the coach had little to offer.
"You know what, he didn't say anything. He was just kind of crying a little bit," Scott said. "I just told him it was going to be OK, to stay strong. He's going to be a great player in this league. It's just going to make him have to work harder, and he has that in him. We'll just wait for him to get back."
Randle had scored two points on 1 for 3 shooting in 13 1/2 minutes in his NBA debut before suffering his injury. When he'll play his second NBA game, sadly, remains very much an open question. Randle will be re-evaluated later Wednesday, with an update on his status to follow, according to the Lakers.
Virtually as soon as TNT's cameras captured Randle in pain on the floor, well wishes began pouring in via social media:
Randle's injury provided an exceptionally grim conclusion to an already dismal night for Lakers fans in which a late-game scuffle between Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard constituted just about the only highlight. More than that, though, it slows the development of one of the Lakers' most important young pieces, and places a difficult and substantial roadblock in the path of a young man who had only just begun to realize his NBA dream.
Here's hoping that Randle's prognosis is as favorable as it can be, and that he's able to return to the court to resume the promising career that was so depressingly interrupted on opening night.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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