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Sacramento Kings PG Tyrese Haliburton will likely miss the rest of the 2020-21 season due to a knee injury sustained Sunday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported late Tuesday night. Haliburton received an MRI, which thankfully revealed no ligament damage in the knee. He won’t need to get surgery, which is also a good sign. The catch is Haliburton probably won’t get back on the court to finish his rookie season.
Haliburton had been having a great rookie season after falling into the Kings’ lap during the 2020 NBA Draft. The Iowa State product should finish 3rd among rookies in scoring and 2nd in assists behind Charlotte Hornets G LaMelo Ball. Hali was also 4th in PER among rookies trailing only Ball, Isaiah Stewart and Immanuel Quickley.
Prior to this news, Haliburton entered Tuesday night 7/1 to win NBA Rookie of the Year. He was never favored after Ball took off. While the Hornets phenom was out, Haliburton was second behind Anthony Edwards, a race that got pretty close at certain points. Had Ball not returned from his fractured wrist, there was a shot Haliburton could steal ROTY, so to speak. He’d be incredibly deserving, just would have gotten a ton of help.