It’s a day not many want to remember, least of all Shaun Livingston.
On February 26th, 2007, Livingston went down with one of the most gruesome injuries in NBA history, tearing his ACL, PCL, lateral meniscus, badly spraining his MCL, dislocating his kneecap, and dislocating his tibia-femoral joint. A doctor reportedly told him in the E.R. that his leg may require amputation. It took 20 months before he took the floor again on an NBA basketball court.
While much of the talk here and elsewhere was about Jason Collins wearing #98 for the first time, Livingston quietly hit a new milestone Wednesday night, seven years to the date after his life-changing horrific accident.
Livingston returned to the starting lineup Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers, marking his career-high 32nd start.
Livingston started his 31st game for the Los Angeles Clippers on February 26th, 2007. But he’s rehabbed back to full strength (furious knock on wood), and he’s not gotten back to the player he was, he’s evolved into the player he could be. His 32nd start is a nice reminder that he’s moving past his past, one step at a time.
Livingston is in the midst of his best season since the injury. In 53 games heading into Wednesday night (and 31 starts), Livingston averaged 7.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 24.8 minutes per game, shooting 46.4 percent from the field. His 53 games are the second-highest on the team, only behind reserve Alan Anderson, the only player to play in all 55 Nets games this season.
Livingston’s only missed game came Sunday, after bruising his tailbone in the first quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.
