Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a gruesome finger injury during Game 1 of the second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
The injury occurred when Vanderbilt attempted to block a dunk by Thunder star Chet Holmgren. Instead of making the block, his pinkie caught on the backboard as he came down. Vanderbilt was in visible pain, eliciting reactions from the Thunder bench as well.
"It just looked pretty gruesome," Thunder guard Jared McCain said. "I don't even know what I was looking at. It looked pretty bad. Prayers for him."
Vanderbilt averaged 4.4 points per game this season and played only six minutes in Game 1, recording two points and a rebound.
Lakers coach JJ Redick called it a "freak injury."
"I went to check on him because it just looked bad," Redick said. "He was audibly screaming. It's just a freak injury."
The Lakers have been plagued by injuries recently. Austin Reaves returned from a layoff in Game 5 of the first round, while Luka Doncic missed the game with a hamstring strain. Doncic is out indefinitely.
Oklahoma City won Game 1, 108-90. Game 2 is Thursday night.