Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey had to be carried off the court on Wednesday after a collision with Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony. Due to a leg injury, Ivey had to be placed on a stretcher during the Pistons’ 106-95 loss to the Magic.
The injury happened early in the fourth quarter as the ball went toward Ivey’s direction. Anthony accidentally hit the left leg of the Pistons guard, who fell on the floor in agony. The 6-foot-4 guard remained on the floor as he grabbed onto his left leg. The game had to be stopped as players from both sides watched the third-year guard get help from the medical team.
Anthony couldn’t hold his emotions and teared up as the former fifth-overall pick lay on the court. Watch the video below to see how the unfortunate injury happened.
Jaden Ivey left game in stretcher after apparent leg injury. Hope he's ok 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tBiVOScskm
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 2, 2025
With his injury, his night was cut short and ended with 22 points and four assists. Ivey was having a great game against the Magic as he shot 72.7% of his shots from the field and 83.3% from deep. As of this writing, the Pistons have not given an update on the condition of the star guard.
Head coach JB Bickerstaff, however, spoke about the scenario and the team’s attitude after the game, even if they had won.
“It’s tough man. No better teammate, or person than JI. No one cares more about this thing than him. It’s tough to see,” Bickerstaff said.
“The sacrifices that he has made you know what I mean within this team, within himself to help this team and other individuals grow. So they banded together because they know that’s what he would have wanted them to do.”
Pistons’ Cade Cunningham said that the team prayed for Ivey after the injury.
“We sent a prayer for him, just wanted to collect ourselves and remind. talk about it, make sure we’re on the same page.”
Fans were disappointed at the Orlando Magic guard
The Orlando Magic guard was playing hard, diving for the loose ball when the injury occurred. However, fans weren’t happy with Anthony’s actions and called him out on X (formerly Twitter).
“Cole Anthony gotta have some awareness, you can’t dive at Ivey’s legs when the ball isn’t in reach,” a fan said.
“Cole Anthony should be suspended for this wtf, just dived straight into Ivey,” another fan suggested a suspension.
“Cole Anthony be doing the most 🤦♂️,” a fan said.
Cole Anthony be doing the most 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/RXgf0haWUo
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) January 2, 2025
“Cole Anthony might have severely altered Jaden Ivey’s career and was arguing it wasn’t a foul”
“Bro why the f**k would Cole Anthony dive at Ivey’s legs like that”
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Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
