With the FIBA Basketball World Cup well underway, Boston Celtics’ forward Jayson Tatum suffered a sprained ankle in the latter stages of his team’s overtime win over Turkey on Tuesday.
The injury occurred as Tatum rolled his left ankle while performing a no-look pass to USA teammate Khris Middleton during overtime. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, this is only a minor sprain, and the 21-year-old will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.
Tatum’s potential unavailability for selection comes as troubling news for the 12-man USA roster, who were relying on Tatum as well as Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell and San Antonio Spurs’ Derrick White in the position of Guard.
Even with the appearances of Jayson Tatum, Team USA have endured a tumultuous start to the tournament so far. While the Americans defeated Greece 67-88 in their opening game of the tournament, they found life a lot more difficult during their encounter with a dangerous Turkish side, narrowly clinching victory by one point during overtime.
Also important to note were the four late free throws that were missed by the Turkish side-any of which could have altered the outcome of the game.
