Charlotte Hornets have confirmed that their guard/forward Nicolas Batum suffered a torn UCL in his left elbow and will be out for 6-8 weeks minimum. The team still evaluates the treatment options and will give further updates on the injury soon.
Full update regarding @nicolas88batum’s injury: https://t.co/SKcohMmzDh pic.twitter.com/o8c1xLoiDm
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) October 5, 2017
Batum suffered the injury in the first quarter of Hornets’ preseason game against the Detroit Pistons. The Hornets won the game with the final result being 108-106 in their favor. You can check out the moment when the Batum’s injury occurred below.
Only video I could find of Nicolas Batum’s elbow injury: pic.twitter.com/qE3o3tc0D3
— Jerry Stephens III (@JR_StephNBA) October 5, 2017
“He just got tangled up,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford told reporters Thursday. “It was one of those kind of contact/collision plays where his arm got stuck between two guys. He was in a lot of pain.“
While he was a youngster, Batum was considered to be one of the Europe’s most gifted and promising players. He played for Le Mans in the French League for two seasons before coming to NBA. During his time in Europe, Batum won the French League Rising Star Award twice (2007, 2008). He entered the 2008 NBA draft where the Houston Rockets took him in the first round with the 25th overall pick. On the draft night, Batum was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for rights on Darrell Arthur and Joey Dorsey.
Batum emerged as a valuable player for the Blazers since his rookie season but exploded in 2012-13 posting some of the best numbers in his career. After his numbers went down in the 2014-15 season, he was traded to Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Gerald Henderson, Jr. and Noah Vonleh. With the Hornets, he found his form once again which brought him 5-year, $120 million extension. In the last season, Batum averaged 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.9 assist and 1.1 steals per game.
