NBA Draft Prospects
Duke’s Dariq Whitehead had a second foot surgery ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft, staying on track for training camp
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 WolpinUpdated07 Jun 2023
The 2023 NBA Draft is happening on Thursday, June 22. This is the 77th edition of the draft that will be taking place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Ahead of the 2023 draft, potential first-round pick Dariq Whitehead underwent a right foot procedure. It’s his second procedure in less than a year. He is expected to fully recover and be ready for the start of training camp.
Whitehead is 18 years old and played just one season with the Duke Blue Devil’s before deciding to go pro. He had an initial procedure done on August 30th, 2022 after fracturing his foot in practice. The New Jersey native had his second procedure done on May 5 at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
Dr. Martin O’Malley did the procedure and said Whitehead with begin rehab in two weeks. The five-star recruit may slip in the draft due to the second surgery in one year. Teams might not want to take the gamble on an 18-year-old with an injury history.
Projected first-round draft pick Dariq Whitehead of Duke gets second foot surgery, on track for NBA training camp return, per Dr. Martin O’Malley to ESPN: https://t.co/TV2nGtMyUv
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 7, 2023
Dariq Whitehead had a second procedure on his foot this week ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft
Whitehead was a McDonald’s All-American who played at Montverde Academy in Florida. Last season he played 28 games and made seven starts for the Blue Devils. He averaged (8.3) points per game and shot an impressive (.429) percent from being the arc.
A second surgery was needed because his foot did not heal properly from his first procedure. In the upcoming draft, Whitehead is projected to be a top-25 overall pick. His injury history may have hurt his draft value, but he’s still an elite prospect. Bleacher Reports Jonathan Wasserman has the New Jersey native being taken 21st overall by the Brooklyn Nets.
Coming into his only season with Duke, the five-star recruit was the Blue Devils highest-ranked prospect. He was one of four five-star recruits that Duke had last season. The only thing holding him back from being a top-20 pick is his injury history. Teams would love to get a positive injury report from his agents before the draft on June 22.
