NBA
Nets’ rookie Dariq Whitehead continues to rehab his foot so that he can be ready for the 2023-24 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 WolpinUpdated21 Aug 2023
In the 2023 NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets selected SF Dariq Whitehead with the 22nd overall pick. Whitehead slipped in the draft because of a lingering foot injury. Within the last year, the 19-year-old has had two surgeries on his foot. However, Brooklyn didn’t think his foot injury would be long-term, and Whitehead’s value at pick-22 was too good to pass up. Since his second surgery, Whitehead has given positive updates to the media on his recovery since the surgery.
On June 7, Dr.Martin O’Malley performed a “revision operation” on Dariq Whitehead. Dr. O’Malley is the Nets’ foot specialist and he was able to perform the surgery before the draft. This gave Brooklyn the inside information on his rehab period and what O’Malley thought of his injury.
It wasn’t enough for Dr. O’Malley to tell the front office that Whitehead shouldn’t be drafted. In the two months since his second procedure, Whitehead is out of a walking boot and is slowly making progress. Brooklyn’s first day of training camp is on October 3.
Rookie Dariq Whitehead on his rehab: “Rehab’s going great. Foot’s feeling good. Not trying to give it a definite timetable right now, just trying to take it day by day. But everything’s feeling good and just looking forward to approaching the season, getting back to 100%.” #nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) August 20, 2023
What kind of role will Dariq Whitehead play for the Nets as a rookie this year?
On August 30, 2022, Dariq Whitehead had his first foot surgery. That caused him to miss time in his only collegiate season with the Duke Blue Devils. He played in 28 games for Duke and made seven starts. On June 7, 2023, the New Jersey native had a second procedure on his foot, and reports have been positive since then.
The New York Posts’ Brian Lewis spoke with Whitehead over the weekend. Whitehead told Lewis that his foot is “feeling good” but the rookie wouldn’t give a definite timetable on when he may return. At the time of his second procedure, Dr. Martin O’Malley said Whitehead should be ready to go for the start of the team’s training camp in the fall.
Due to his injury, Whitehead was not able to play in Summer League with the Nets’ other rookies. Brooklyn also took Noah Clowney and Jalen Wilson in the 2023 Draft. In college, Whitehead averaged (8.3) points per game and was a marksman from range. He took 3.5 three-pointers per game and knocked them down at a (.429) percent clip. The rookie has the potential to be a star in Brooklyn, but he needs to stay healthy to make that happen.
