Last night during a FIBA World Cup friendly match, Miami Heat big man Kelly Olynyk took a nasty spill during the third quarter.
After limping off the court and into the Canadian team locker room, it was reported that Olynyk would undergo X-rays. It was also reported that he may have suffered a knee injury. That is always a scary prospect, as some knee injuries can take months to recover from.
Luckily in the case of Olynyk, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
On Thursday morning, it was reported that Olynyk’s injury is minor and he is expected to miss no more than a week’s time.
Some positive news on Kelly Olynyk who slipped on a wet floor and fell hard vs. Nigeria last night, bruising his knee: Thinking is he’ll be out for a week but expected to continue to Worlds: https://t.co/nZ8HwOCPOZ
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) August 8, 2019
While Olynyk has primarily played a bench role for the Heat since signing with the club following the 2017-18 season, the 2019-20 campaign could mark a shift. Last season, he started a career-high 39 games. With the departure of big man Hassan Whiteside earlier this offseason, it’s quite likely that Olynyk will eclipse that career benchmark this season.
Before that, Olynyk still seems poised to represent his nation in the upcoming World Cup tournament.
