The NBA held its collective breath and bowed its collective head after witnessing the devastating fall and injury suffered by Celtics forward Gordon Hayward on opening night. The All-Star swingman was less than six minutes into his Boston debut before falling awkwardly on an alley-oop attempt, causing his left leg to bend awkwardly.
Medical personnel immediately attended to Hayward, who was already being prayed for and encouraged by both teammates and Cleveland players, including LeBron James. Meanwhile, NBA players and personalities who were watching the game immediately took to social media to offer their own spoken offerings of support to the fallen Celtic.
One of the first to respond was Oklahoma City swingman Paul George, who suffered a horrific leg injury of his own during a USA Basketball scrimmage in 2014.
Naw G! π°
— Paul George (@Yg_Trece) October 18, 2017
God bless you bro @gordonhayward ! ππΎ help him thru this god!
— Paul George (@Yg_Trece) October 18, 2017
— Paul George (@Yg_Trece) October 18, 2017
Others weren’t far behind.
ππ½ππ½ For @gordonhayward. Come back stronger!
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) October 18, 2017
Prayers out to @gordonhayward !
— andrew wiggins (@22wiggins) October 18, 2017
Prayers up @gordonhayward !!
— John Wall (@JohnWall) October 18, 2017
Wow…thats horrific…feel awful for Hayward
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) October 18, 2017
Oh no Gordon. ππ»ππ»ππ»
— Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) October 18, 2017
Praying for you @gordonhayward !!!
— Kyle Lowry (@Klow7) October 18, 2017
Prayers up for @gordonhayward ππ½
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) October 18, 2017
Former Jazz teammates Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles and Trey Lyles tweeted after the injury.
Damn…
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) October 18, 2017
ππ»ππ»ππ» https://t.co/FIi5gVv8Bq
— Joe Ingles (@Joeingles7) October 18, 2017
Damn man! Praying for my guy G!!!
— Trey Lylesξͺ (@TreyLyles) October 18, 2017
Prayers to my brother @gordonhayward π pic.twitter.com/WigEE3BFPP
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 18, 2017
No way… that ainβt fair…
— Ricky Rubio (@rickyrubio9) October 18, 2017
God bless G, you gunna be alright. Get well. Prayers with you
— Aaron Gordon (@Double0AG) October 18, 2017
Prayers up @gordonhaywardππΌ
— Devin Booker (@DevinBook) October 18, 2017
ππππππππNO No No!!! Give him strength!!! ππππππ
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) October 18, 2017
Praying for you Gordon Hayward, youβll be back stronger than ever βπ½ #WeallBrothers
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) October 18, 2017
Prayers up for you @gordonhayward
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) October 18, 2017
Members of the Cavaliers did not wait until after the game to see their fallen foe. James visited Hayward during the contest, as did injured Cavs point guard and former Celtic Isaiah Thomas.
LeBron James just went into Cavs locker room where Gordon Hayward is receiving medical attention
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) October 18, 2017
Isaiah Thomas, who recruited Hayward to Boston over summer, has also been with him in locker room.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) October 18, 2017
Meanwhile, tweets continued to flow from Hayward’s NBA peers.
Praying for my guy @gordonhayward!!! NEVER want to see any of the guys go through anything like that.
— DeAndre Jordan πΊ (@DeAndre) October 18, 2017
Never want to see that man!#thoughtsandprayers
— Zach LaVine (@ZachLaVine) October 18, 2017
Hate to see this happen to anyone! Prayers to Gordon Hayward ππΎππΎ
— Mike Conley (@MCONLEY10) October 18, 2017
Prayers up for Gordon Hayward !!! ππ½
— Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) October 18, 2017
Man, nothing but prayers to Gordon Hayward!
— DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) October 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/Dloading/status/920444740750979077
Prayers going out to Gordon Hayward!!!
— Anthony Davis (@AntDavis23) October 18, 2017
