Jarred Vanderbilt of the Los Angeles Lakers described on May 15 his recovery from a dislocated right pinky finger that occurred during Game 1 of the team’s second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The injury happened when Vanderbilt’s finger got caught on the backboard while attempting to block a shot, resulting in a full dislocation and an open wound.
Vanderbilt missed Game 2 but was able to return for the final two games of the series, including playing limited minutes in Game 4, which ended with a loss for the Lakers. He said he worked hard to make himself available for his teammates. “I feel good,” Vanderbilt said after the loss. “It’s been almost a week now, so made some good progress and I tried to do everything possible to get back out there for the team.”
The Lakers faced additional challenges due to other roster absences and needed all available players as they attempted to compete against Oklahoma City. Despite describing his injury as unusual, Vanderbilt expressed satisfaction with how quickly he recovered. “It’s been a lot,” he admitted. “Obviously something like that is a freak accident, you don’t see that every day. But yeah, it honestly was the best case scenario for that type of injury. Like I said, I was able to pull it together this last week and we did some rehab and I was able to get out there tonight.”
Throughout this season, Vanderbilt has alternated between starting roles and coming off the bench under head coach JJ Redick but continued providing energy whenever called upon.
Looking ahead, reports indicate that veteran guard Marcus Smart could become a free agent if he opts out of his contract’s player option worth $5.39 million; if so, there is interest from the Lakers in retaining him.