10 NBA Players With Torn Meniscus

Jamal Crawford is a retired NBA player who played for 20 seasons. Jamal was known for his impressive ball-handling skills and scoring abilities. 

However, his illustrious basketball career was marked by several injuries, including a meniscus tear in his left knee during the 2001–2002 season.

This injury caused him to miss the rest of the season, but he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear and could return the following season. Despite this setback, Crawford played for two more decades, although he suffered other injuries throughout his career.

Crawford is one of the NBA players who tore their ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). He got the injury in his left knee between his rookie and sophomore seasons with the Bulls. The injury required surgery, and he returned triumphantly to the court after 58 games.

In the 2006-2007 season with the New York Knicks, Crawford was once again limited due to injury, this time with an ACL injury, but he still managed to average 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.

In 2018, Crawford suffered another meniscus injury in his right knee while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He underwent surgery to repair the tear and returned to court after six weeks of rehabilitation.

The former Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton suffered a season-ending injury on 7 November 2021 while playing against the New York Knicks.

A torn meniscus in his left knee required him to undergo surgery, which was later carried out in Atlanta. In the team's first 11 games, Sexton averaged 16.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, ranking second in scoring. 

Unfortunately, his injury was a significant setback for the Cavs, as playing basketball with a torn meniscus is unimaginable. The team was already facing injury-related challenges, and there was no definitive timeline for his return. 

On November 20, 2021, it was confirmed that Sexton would not return for the remainder of the season. Cleveland offered Sexton a qualifying offer on June 28, 2022, rendering him a restricted free agent.

However, he was eventually signed and traded, along with Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three future first-round picks, and two future pick swaps, to the Utah Jazz on September 3, 2022, in exchange for Donovan Mitchell. 

CP3 underwent knee surgery on his right knee in February 2010. The renowned orthopedist James Anderson operated on his torn lateral meniscus.

Despite attempting to repair the cartilage, Anderson could not do so and resorted to removing it instead. Thankfully, Paul's left knee remained unaffected by surgery. 

The NBA star returned to the court towards the end of the 2010 season following rehabilitation on his right knee, though further rehab was required in the offseason to bring the knee closer to full strength. 

During the training camp 2011 season, Chris Paul wore a knee brace, fueling rumors about his knee condition, with some questioning if there was any cartilage remaining and if there would be a need for further surgery. 

Given that the tear was removed rather than repaired, there is the possibility of increased bone-on-bone wear and tear in the knee due to less cushioning cartilage between the bones.

Recently, Paul sustained a strained groin injury in Game 2 of the ongoing 2023 NBA matches, which caused him to leave the game with less than five minutes to go.

Point guard Derrick Rose left the arena on crutches after getting injured during a match while playing for Chicago Bulls in November 2013.

The injury occurred during the game's third quarter, in which the Bulls lost 98-95. It was later disclosed that he had a median meniscus tear in his right knee that required surgery. 

Meniscus tears are common among basketball players who make sudden stops and turns. The normal NBA torn meniscus recovery time is around two to three months. 

Although Derrick Rose returned to play in the fall of 2013, he suffered another meniscus tear in his right knee two months later. Despite undergoing surgery to repair the tear, he suffered the same injury again after another year of recovery and rehabilitation.

This was Derrick's third knee surgery since 2012, including the torn ACL he suffered in his left knee during the 2012 playoffs. These injuries have been a major setback for Rose, who has struggled with injuries since he hurt his knee during the playoffs in 2011-12 against Philadelphia.

The 6 feet 7 inches tall Jimmy Butler suffered a meniscus injury in his right knee during a game against the Houston Rockets in February 2018.

Butler was expected to be out for at least four to six weeks but aimed to return for the playoffs after undergoing surgery with Dr. Diane Dahm at Mayo Clinic.

The loss of Butler was significant for the team as he was the prime difference between the Wolves potentially making it to the Western Conference Finals and not making it to the playoffs. 

Jimmy returned to the court after knee surgery in April 2018. His torn meniscus recovery time with surgery was around three months. After returning to the court, he played in the Timberwolves' 113-96 win over the Lakers. 

In his first game since the injury, he played for 22 minutes and scored 18 points, going 7 for ten from the field with two rebounds, one assist, and four steals. The surgery was to mend a partially torn meniscus, and Butler had missed 17 games.

The Los Angeles Clippers star player Kawhi Leonard was recently pinpointed with a torn meniscus in his right knee on April 28, 2023.

Clippers and Leonard are currently deliberating on the best course of action to treat the injury, with a decision expected to be made within the next two weeks.

Leonard could not participate in the last three matches of the Clippers' first-round series against the Phoenix Suns due to the injury he sustained during Game 1, initially diagnosed as a right knee sprain. 

Although he pushed through the pain to play in Game 2, he was eventually ruled out for the following three games (Games 3-5).

This is not the first time Leonard has experienced a right knee injury during the playoffs. He previously suffered a partial tear in his right ACL during the 2021 Western Conference semifinals. This injury required surgery in July 2021, forcing Leonard to miss the 2021-22 season.

Joel Embiid suffered a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee during the first-round playoff series against the Washington Wizards in 2021.

In response, the Sixers announced that they would not opt for surgery but instead pursue a physical therapy and treatment program.

The incident occurred during the first quarter of Game 4 when Joel attempted to drive into the paint and was challenged by Wizards center Robin Lopez at the rim. During the fall, Embiid lost his balance and landed with all his weight on his right leg, falling hard on his back.

At that time, John Vasudevan, a physician at Penn Sports Medicine, said that while Embiid may be able to play through some level of pain, instability poses a greater risk and may hinder his performance. The first three weeks of recovery were expected to be the most difficult.

Furthermore, a torn meniscus recovery time for athletes usually takes six to 12 weeks to resume running or other sports after sustaining a similar meniscus tear. 

Zion Williamson was diagnosed with a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee. He worked closely with the medical staff of the Pelicans to overcome biomechanical issues.

In October 2020, Zion underwent arthroscopic surgery to trim the meniscus, resulting in his absence from the NBA regular season for the first three months.

To mitigate the risk of future injuries, Williamson incorporated some key changes into his training regimen. For instance, he trained himself to land with his knees bent instead of landing with straight legs. 

He also made a conscious effort to avoid tilting his knees inward when landing from a rebound or executing sharp cuts, which could otherwise place additional strain on the outside of his joints.

Williamson returned to the court for the first time in January 2020, during a home game against the San Antonio Spurs led by Gregg Popovich.

However, the comeback was short-lived, as he was ruled out for the rest of the Las Vegas Summer League that year after sustaining a bruised left knee in just nine minutes of play.

Apart from that, Williamson previously suffered a deep knee bruise in April 2017 that kept him out of "AAU" ball for several months.

Cameron Johnson suffered a knee injury that resulted in a torn meniscus in his right knee. The incident occurred during the game against Portland in November 2022 after landing awkwardly.

Johnson underwent a successful meniscectomy to remove part of his meniscus. He could return to court within two months following the surgery.

This wasn't the first time the Minnesota forward had faced a meniscus injury, as he also underwent meniscus surgery on his left knee back in November 2017 while he was still committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels. 

During his recovery from the left knee injury, Johnson missed over a month of playing time, making his return to the court on December 20, 2017.

In addition to his knee injuries, Cameron also required surgery for his shoulder in 2015, when he played for the Pittsburgh Panthers, and hip surgery in 2018 during his time with UNC.

James Wiseman missed the entire 2021–2022 NBA season for Golden State Warriors after being diagnosed with a torn right meniscus. 

The extent of his injury was explained by Dr. Nirav Pandya, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at UCSF, who stated that a minor tear would entail a four-to-six-week recovery.

Wiseman had a setback in his recovery and received arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to reduce swelling during the recovery process.

Earlier in his rookie season, Wiseman suffered a sprained left wrist that kept him out for roughly three weeks and 11 games, longer than the original timeline of 7–10 days.

After returning from his wrist injury, Wiseman played nine games before being forced to enter the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols, causing him to miss three games back then.