Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Sports
Sports

Hawks Lose Lou Williams For Rest of Season With ACL Tear

Posted byBy Jacobi Eaves | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Atlanta Hawks guard Lou Williams, the team’s third-leading scorer averaging 14.1 points, will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Friday night’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

The tear was discovered Saturday morning after Dr. Michael Bernot examined Williams’ knee. He will undergo surgery, but there is no date set.

The Atlanta native’s injury came when he stole the ball and was driving to the basket with about 7 minutes left in the second quarter. His leg gave out as he attempted to plant and go up for the shot, but had to limp out of bounds and be taken to the locker room.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said the loss of Williams for the rest of the season was “devastating” for the team, but they must find a way forward.

“You hate to see it happen,” Drew said on Saturday. “You wish for a fast and speedy recovery but we have to conduct business as usual and we have to move on. We have to get somebody in that locker room that is going to have to step up. Any time one of your soldiers is down, somebody else has to pick it up. I have confidence that that will happen.”

Rookie John Jenkins, who is only averaging 4.1 points per game, will see an increase in his minutes, according to Drew.

“I just pray for him,” Jeff Teague said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Hopefully it’s a speedy recovery. It is tough losing a guy like that coming off the bench and getting points in bunches. He’s just a good guy all around, a good player, a good friend, someone I enjoy playing with.”

The 26-year-old Williams signed a multiyear deal as a free agent with the Hawks last summer. He has played in all 39 games this season, during most of which he came off the bench. Along with his 14.1 points per game, he also averaged 3.6 assists and 2.1 rebounds overall. But in nine starts, his numbers are slightly higher, averaging 18.6 points, 5.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds.

Williams joins a Hawks backcourt that is plagued by injuries. DeShawn Stevenson is out with a sore right knee, and Anthony Morrow has missed 12 consecutive games with a right hip and lower back injury.

 

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top