Andre Drummond leaves NBA game in wheelchair after ’embarrassing’ moment as Bulls star suffers freak injury
CHICAGO Bulls star Andre Drummond had a night to forget against the New York Knicks.
The 30-year-old center was taken from the court in a wheelchair after suffering a freak ankle injury.
Just moments before rolling his ankle, Drummond had bizarrely denied Bulls teammate Torrey Craig a certain bucket on a trick play.
With the score 36-27 in favor of the Knicks in the second quarter, Drummond forced a steal on the wing.
Craig burst away on the fast break, launching the ball against the backboard for a self-alley-oop.
As he rose to dunk, Drummond inexplicably bounded in behind him and tried to power the ball in himself.
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Craig was sent careering onto the ground as the ball fell into the hands of Knicks forward Bojan Bogdanovic for a calamitous turnover.
"Bro thought he was being a team player," laughed one fan in response to the viral footage on X.
"Everything about this is embarrassing," wrote another.
"Nah there’s no way this is real," said a third.
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"You're down 9. Just put it in the basket," added a fourth.
"And people say Andre Drummond doesn't play defense," joked a fifth.
Drummond's night went from bad to worse shortly after the bizarre play.
On the next possession, he appeared to roll his ankle attempting to collect a defensive rebound.
The former No. 9 overall pick had to be taken from the arena in a wheelchair.
He was spotted by NBC cameras with his head in his hands as medical staff carted him to the locker room.
We did some really dumb stuff tonight.
Bulls star Coby White
Drummond played just five minutes before leaving the game for good, finishing with 4 points, 2 rebounds, and one steal.
The 6-foot-11 star was later seen heading out of the United Center in a protective boot on a mobility scooter, per the Chicago Tribune.
Chicago did not reveal the extent of the backup center's injury.
The Bulls fell to a 128-117 loss on the night, dropping to 37-42 on the season.
They sit ninth in the Eastern Conference and face the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.
Point guard Coby White admitted that the team could have played better as a whole during Tuesday's loss.
"We did some really dumb stuff tonight," White told reporters.
"Everybody one through five, not just Craig, so we're not gonna sit here and single him out.
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"We're a team. It was all self-induced.
"It's too late in the season to be having those types of lapses. We've got to get our s**t together for sure."
