When Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo tore his right Achilles on Saturday, it followed a strange pattern. DiVincenzo became the fourth NBA player to tear his Achilles in a playoff game over the past year — and all four players wore No. 0.
DiVincenzo went down less than two minutes into the Timberwolves’ Game 4 win over the Denver Nuggets, after planting his leg in an attempt to get the rebound. Though he walked to the locker room under his own power, he was seen being transported in wheelchair later in the game.
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The team announced Sunday that DiVincenzo had been officially diagnosed with a torn right Achilles tendon, and that he will undergo surgery in New York later on Sunday.
DiVincenzo joins the trio of NBA stars who suffered Achilles tears during last year’s playoffs. First was Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, who, then with the Milwaukee Bucks, went down in the first round after tearing his left Achilles. Then, two weeks later, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum tore his right Achilles during a second-round series against the New York Knicks. More than a month after that, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
All four players wear jersey No. 0.
Tatum has since returned to play, rejoining the Celtics in March and putting up several big performances while ramping up. Lillard has not made it back to the court yet, though he did win the three-point contest at All-Star weekend. Haliburton also has yet to make it back, with the Pacers guard getting diagnosed with shingles and suffering setbacks in his return.
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After the three players — Lillard, Tatum and Haliburton — suffered Achilles injuries last year, their teams went on to lose that same playoff series. The Bucks lost the first round to the Pacers; the Celtics fell to the Knicks. And Indiana ended up losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in that Game 7 without Haliburton.
It’s unclear whether DiVincenzo’s Timberwolves will continue that trend, though. Even with DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards leaving the game early with injuries (Edwards was diagnosed with a bone bruise and hyperextension of the knee, sustained just before halftime), Minnesota stayed in it to take a 3-1 series lead.
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However, with DiVincenzo’s season over and Edwards set to miss a couple of weeks, it’s possible that the Timberwolves will falter, with the series returning to Denver on Monday for Game 5. After Saturday’s game, Minnesota head coach Chris Finch called the injury “completely devastating,” and called DiVincenzo “the heart and soul” of the team.
Still, based on how Ayo Dosunmu stepped up on Saturday, Minnesota’s bench seems capable of filling the space left by its two starting guards.
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