The New York Knicks received brutal news about their rookie center on Thursday. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Ariel Hukporti suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and will miss 4-to-6 weeks.
Knicks’ Ariel Hukporti suffered a torn meniscus against the 76ers
Hukporti was given his first career start on Wednesday with both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson out and he performed well. He scored eight points, grabbed two rebounds, and blocked one shot in 16 minutes of action.
Hukporti suffered the injury early in the third quarter against the 76ers before checking out of the game and heading into the locker room. He then briefly returned to the floor and played one minute in the fourth quarter before the Knicks ruled him out with what was initially called a sprained left knee.
The injury is undoubtedly a massive blow to the rookie, as he was just given his best opportunity to make a name for himself and be a possible rotation piece the rest of the way. New York drafted Hukporti with the 58th overall pick in this past year’s draft.
The Knicks will have to move forward without a key depth piece
Hukporti had demonstrated great defensive skills for a rookie and was making waves this season with their center depth depleted. Now, he will have to go on the shelf for an extended period of time with this truly unfortunate injury.
While the injury is a huge blow to the Knicks’ center depth, they luckily will have Robinson back very soon to make his season debut and Towns hopes to be back on the floor Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Nevertheless, the Knicks will now have to hope that Robinson and Towns both remain healthy until Hukporti’s injury heals.
The rookie is averaging 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 29 games played this season.