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Sporting News
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook underwent an arthroscopic surgery for his right knee on Wednesday, September 12th, 2018. The reports are that Westbrook had started feeling increased stiffness in his knee and elected to undergo a procedure now instead of during the season. The 2016-17 MVP will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
First, let’s dive into Westbrook’s injury history. He initially injured his right knee in the 2012-13 playoffs, getting tangled up with Patrick Beverley. Westbrook missed the rest of the playoffs after having surgery to repair the meniscus. Prior to the 2013-14 season, he underwent a second surgery to remove a loose stitch from the first surgery, causing him to miss the first two games of the season. Westbrook then had a third surgery on the same knee later on that season.
3 surgeries in a span of 8 months.
Now obviously, the right knee has not slowed Brodie down in the past couple of seasons. He’s still the uber-athletic, Tasmanian devil type player that has averaged a triple-double two season in a row. That being said, a fourth surgery on the same knee is a cause for concern.
The meniscus and cartilage are structures that supply cushion in between the thigh bone and the shin bone.
The first surgery was a meniscus repair. There’s a longer rehabilitation timetable, but by repairing the meniscus, there’s a better long-term outlook. The subsequent two surgeries that Westbrook underwent were to remove any types of cartilage and menisci particles that may have been causing his knee to swell.
Russell Westbrook now has less cushion in his knee entering his 11th NBA season. 748 games. 25,000+ minutes played. Not to mention the amount of minutes he’s bled for the US of A. That’s a lot of wear and tear on a human body.
There’s no telling how Westbrook is going to look when he comes back. Most likely, he’ll be back to his old self, but just keep in mind there’s a chance that as a 30 year old, he’s reached his athletic peak and will be slowly declining.