NBA
CJ McCollum delayed a thumb surgery he needed months ago so he could be available for 75 of the Pelicans’ 82 games this season
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated13 Apr 2023
The New Orleans Pelicans have only made the playoffs once in the last five seasons and the drought will continue. A controversial no-call on Brandon Ingram saw the Pelicans lose 123-118 at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their season is now over and that gives a chance for players to finally get some much-needed rest and take care of injuries. CJ McCollum battled through a thumb injury this season a delayed surgery so he could be available.
Not only is he dealing with a thumb injury, but McCollum also admitted to a shoulder issue that has been bothering him as well. He said that his shoulder injury is something that happened more recently and he needs to get that examined. McCollum did say that he needed thumb surgery months ago but kept it under wraps so he could help the team.
CJ McCollum played through a thumb injury a large part of the season and a shoulder injury down the stretch. Will have surgery for the thumb and getting shoulder checked. Talked a lot about availability and why it’s important.
— Rod Walker (@RodWalkerNola) April 13, 2023
The best ability is availability and CJ McCollum was more than available for the Pelicans this season
CJ McCollum was one of four Pelicans players to play at least 75 games this season and that’s huge in an era where load management gets talked about more and more. The Pelicans had their two all-stars dealing with injuries for most of the season. Brandon Ingram played 45 games this season and Zion Williamson played just 29.
After the game, McCollum spoke about why he delayed the thumb surgery.
“I delayed it to try and help our team get to the playoffs and we came up short,”… “I was doing what I could to try and help out the team.” – CJ McCollum
He went into more detail about why being available is extremely important in the NBA. This could be a shot at his teammate Zion Williamson who was seen throwing down some dunks in warmups last night but was not available to play. Williamson last played on 1/2 vs the Philadelphia 76ers. Somehow he earned an all-star selection this season despite playing just 29 games.
