Nets' Kyrie Irving has surgery to repair impingement in right shoulder
Earlier this season, he became 1st Brooklyn player to have multiple 50-point games
Kyrie Irving underwent surgery Tuesday to repair the injured right shoulder that ended his first season with the Brooklyn Nets after just 20 games.
The Nets said the procedure to relieve the impingement was performed by Dr. Riley Williams III at the Hospital for Special Surgery. The NBA team said Irving is expected to make a full recovery.
The 27-year-old point guard began having trouble with the shoulder as he worked to get back in shape after another injury in the preseason. The pain worsened in November, early in the regular season, and he missed 26 games before returning in January.
Irving got a cortisone shot on Dec. 24 but acknowledged that surgery still might be necessary. The decision to have it was reached last month on the night the Nets returned from the all-star break.
He finished with averages of 27.4 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds, and became the first player in franchise history to have multiple 50-point games in a season. He also missed time because of a sprained right knee.
Irving signed with Brooklyn in July along with Kevin Durant, who is expected to miss the entire season while recovering from surgery to repair his Achilles tendon.
The Nets are trying to hang onto a playoff spot without them, sitting in eighth place in the Eastern Conference at 26-33 after four straight losses.
Brooklyn plays Tuesday night in Boston, where Irving spent the last two seasons. He missed both visits this season because of the shoulder injury.
Dr. J to attend 1st Nets game in Brooklyn
Dr. J is finally going to make a house call to the Nets in Brooklyn.
Julius Erving, perhaps the greatest player in the nomadic franchise's history, will be at Barclays Center on Friday when the Nets host the San Antonio Spurs.
Erving led the New York Nets to ABA championships in 1974 and 1976, but he was then sold to the Philadelphia 76ers when the Nets entered the NBA. Erving, who is originally from Long Island, played his entire NBA career with the 76ers and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Nets owner Joseph Tsai called the high-flying Erving "the most iconic basketball great of our time."
"He turned flair into elegance and revolutionized the game," Tsai added in a statement. "I am thrilled that we are bringing Dr. J home to attend his first Brooklyn Nets game at Barclays Center."