Is Kansas center Joel Embiid's injury similar to the one that sent NBA legends Bill Walton and Yao Ming to retirement?
According to SI.com, the stress fracture in Embiid's navicular bone in his right foot is similar to the injury that Yao Ming suffered in 2008 and 2009. It was also the main reason why the Chinese giant was forced to retire in 2011 at the tender age of 30.
Meanwhile, another NBA legend, Hall of Famer Bill Walton, also suffered fractures of the navicular bone that made him play only 14 games between 1978 and 1982.
If there's a silver lining to this report, it's that Zydrunas Ilgauskas also suffered the same injury early in his career. Ilgaukas, however, bucked the odds and went on to complete nine healthy seasons mostly with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
If this is true, then Embiid could fall numerous spots in the upcoming draft. He was widely projected as the top pick in the June 26 draft but his injury has become a major concern for many general managers. One unnamed Western Conference GM was quoted by SI.com as saying that he won't even pick Embiid in the top 10.
The SI report cites the prognosis of Dr. Kenneth Hunt of Stanford who says that despite the high profile examples of athletes who have retired because of the injury, there is a high healing rate of this kind of fracture.
"The majority of these injuries will heal completely," Hunt was quoted as saying. "Getting to it early is a good prognostic sign."
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