Players for both the Pistons and Magic were shaken after Jaden Ivey’s serious leg injury.
Detroit guard Jaden Ivey sustained what appeared to be a severe injury to his lower left leg in the fourth quarter of Detroit’s 105-96 victory against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
Orlando’s Cole Anthony slipped and fell as he and Ivey went for the ball. Anthony’s momentum carried him into Ivey’s planted leg, knocking Ivey to the floor. Ivey, 22, immediately fell to the ground and was holding his lower leg while screaming in pain and Detroit’s medical staff quickly attended to him.
Members of the training staff held up towels to block the crowd’s view of the injury and players from both teams formed a circle around him. After a lengthy delay, he was loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled out of the arena with a towel covering the injury.
“It is tough for all of us,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “There’s no better person or teammate than J.I. and no one cares more about this than he does. I give the guys credit for getting it done — they care about him and they didn’t want to let him down.”
Prayers up for Jaden Ivey ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yxc0CrVADn
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) January 2, 2025
Players from both teams consoled Ivey and Anthony, who were noticeably shaken by the play.
“It was devastating,” the Magic’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said, per The Detroit News. “I didn’t really see what happened, but I know that Cole dove for the ball, and Ivey happened to be there and hit the floor. I thought it was just a leg cramp at first, but it turned out worse than that …
“My prayers go out to him, and I hope he makes a full recovery and gets back healthy. Ivey is a great player. He was playing well tonight and unfortunately, that happened. We’re all just praying for him.”
Ivey led the Pistons with 22 points.
This season, Ivey is averaging career bests in scoring (17.6 points) and rebounds (4.1) per game while also hitting highs in field goal shooting (46%) and 3-point percentage (40.9%).
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
