Michael Carter-Williams received his Rookie of the Year award on Monday, after winning the award in a relative landslide.
A day later, he was headed for a medical procedure no one knew was coming.
The Sixers announced that Carter-Williams underwent successful surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder.
“The health of our players is our primary concern,” said Sixers President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Hinkie, in the team’s official release. “There were a number of healthy discussions between Michael, our medical team, several medical specialists and Michael’s representatives. After careful consideration and thoughtful research, we collectively agreed that it was in Michael’s best interest to move forward with the procedure now and allow for maximum recovery time.”
The surgery comes as a surprise, because Carter-Williams finished out the regular season having not missed a game since Feb. 1, and averaged over 32 minutes per game during that stretch. But he didn’t always feel 100 percent.
From CSNPhilly.com:
Shoulder injuries come in varying degrees, and often times surgery isn’t needed. Both Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony dealt with similar injuries during the 2012-13 season, and neither opted for the operation.
Things were obviously different in the case of Carter-Williams, and getting this taken care of now should theoretically give him ample time to rehabilitate from it before the start of next season. It is worth noting, however, that the team stated that there is no timetable for his return in the press release.