The injury to Donte DiVincenzo in the first minute of the fourth game of the Western Conference quarterfinals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, just when the Italian-American was playing at a high level, is a blow for his team. With this, there are now four players in the last two seasons who have ruptured their Achilles tendon, and the four have a curious story that they share: they wear the number ‘0’.
And this ‘cursed’ number is not giving any luck to those who wear it, quite the opposite. Just ask Tyrese Haliburton: the Indiana Pacers point guard was leading his team to its first championship in history and, when he was at his best in the decisive game (he had nine points in Game 7 of the Finals against Oklahoma), he suffered the same injury as DiVincenzo when trying to beat Shai, which seriously damaged the interests of a team that saw how its dream was shattered by not being able to count on its star.
Haliburton, Tatum, Lillard… and now, DiVincenzo
Another player who was also in splendid form in 2025 was Jayson Tatum, who had won the championship a year earlier and had won the Finals MVP. The Californian forward was enjoying a great time with the Boston Celtics, who believed in a possible ‘back-to-back’.
However, the dream of repeating as champions disappeared in a flash with the rupture of the Achilles tendon of their star, although, unlike Haliburton, he has already reappeared thanks to the quick intervention of the doctors, who, taking advantage of the fact that his doctor was in New York, operated on him that same night.
If we talk about this fateful injury, it is impossible not to remember Damian Lillard. The former Milwaukee point guard suffered a torn tendon during the first round of the playoffs between the Bucks and, coincidentally, Haliburton’s Pacers. The point guard was left sitting on the court clutching his leg. When he got up he couldn’t put his foot down. The result: he has not yet returned, although, even in a recovery process as long as this one, he has been able to enjoy basketball by winning the three-point contest this season.
He did so on his return to Portland: his last game with the Wisconsin team was precisely that one. In addition, the absence of the Oakland point guard weighed heavily on his team in the rest of the series and they ended up succumbing to the reigning finalists of the competition.
Others, such as Kevin Durant in the 2019 finals, and Kobe Bryant in 2013, suffered injuries, although at that time these things were not as common as they are now.
Potential increase in this type of injury
It is very strange that, with the Timberwolves player’s injury, there are already four injuries in an area that bears much of the weight of the players. Achilles ruptures, whether tendon or heel, have tremendously long recovery processes and, in many cases, those affected do not usually return to their previous level.
The worrying thing about this is that more and more cases of this type are occurring, regardless of the time of year, and also of the rupture of the cruciate ligament in the knee, another of the most serious injuries, especially in basketball, a discipline that requires explosiveness and a lot of physical contact.
Read the full article here
