Few, if any, NBA players would be more able to sympathize with and understand what Gordon Hayward is going through with his broken leg than Paul George.
George infamously broke his leg during the 2014 USA Basketball Showcase, a gruesome injury seen by a national audience, much like Hayward’s. Understandably, seeing what happened to the Boston Celtics forward roused a lot of emotions in the Oklahoma City Thunder star.
“It just brought me back to Vegas and what happened to me, my incident,” George said, via Royce Young of ESPN. “Immediately I felt devastated. I was, like, nauseous watching it, just going back to that place. Immediately after it happened I texted Gordon. We talked last night. I just tried to give him words of encouragement, tried to be there for him.”
George said that the recovery from such an injury takes a toll mentally as well as physically.
“It’s both, man. It’s both,” George said. “Gordon, he’s never dealt with something as bad as that … It’s a little bit of everything. It’s physical, it’s mentally, I’m sure, emotional. He’s in a different state of mind. Honestly, it’s hard to get over that.”
George is just one of many players wishing Hayward the best after such a horrific injury — he, though, is uniquely positioned to offer advice and support throughout what will be a lengthy recovery process.
