2:05pm: Ivey underwent successful surgery this morning to repair his broken fibula, the Pistons announced in a press release (Twitter link via Keith Langlois of the team’s website). He’ll be reevaluated in four weeks, with additional updates on Ivey’s status to come in the future.
10:38am: Pistons starting guard Jaden Ivey
suffered a broken fibula in his left leg during Wednesday’s game against Orlando, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports
.
According to Charania, Ivey is expected miss the majority of what’s left of his third season. While it’s still possible he could return at some point in 2024/25, Charania writes that Detroit will be cautious with 22-year-old during his recovery process.
It’s a serious blow to the vastly improved Pistons, who have won four of their last five games and are in the mix for the play-in tournament. Detroit is currently 15-18, the No. 9 seed in the East, after finishing last season with the worst record in the NBA (14-68).
Ivey was injured early in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s win over the Magic. Ivey and Magic guard Cole Anthony were battling for a loose ball and Anthony fell on the Pistons guard’s leg. The game was delayed for several minutes and Ivey was carried off on a stretcher.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Ivey had been enjoying his best season as a pro so far in ’24/25, establishing new career highs in points (17.6) and rebounds (4.1) per game, as well as field goal percentage (46.0%) and three-point percentage (40.9%). He has started all 30 games he has played, averaging 29.9 minutes per night.
Detroit has already picked up its $10.1MM option on Ivey’s contract for next season. He’s eligible for a rookie scale extension during the offseason and it remains to be seen how this injury might impact those future negotiations.
Marcus Sasser , a 2023 first rounder, figures to see his playing time rise in Ivey’s absence.