Exactly six months after Shayne Whittington suffered a broken fibula during a pre-draft workout, he tore off his warm-ups and checked in to an NBA game.
With 1:20 remaining in the third quarter of the Pacers’ 97-90 loss to the Washington Wizards, the 6-11 big man stepped onto the floor for his first NBA minutes. Right away, he made an impact. 19 seconds in, he grabbed his first rebound — a Chris Copeland miss from outside. Then, he made two very nice passes, which led to buckets.
Whittington’s first points came at the 10:48 mark of the fourth quarter when he operated on the right block and finished with his right hand. In his debut, Whittington finished with two points (1-of-2 from the field), three rebounds, two assists, and zero turnovers in eight minutes and fifteen seconds of work.
Afterwards, he made the mistake of dipping out before the majority of reporters arrived following head coach Frank Vogel’s post-game remarks. He did, however, post on social media about his notable accomplishment of playing his first minutes in The Association.
The Pacers’ interest in him was made obvious when they signed Whittington, a player who would clearly need lots of rehab, to a non-guaranteed deal on the second day of free agency. He was unable to participate in free-agent/rookie camp and Summer League, two important times for any newcomer. He was then cleared to work at game speed after 13 weeks, and he was a full participant in training camp.
“We think he’s going to be a pretty good player for us down the road,” Pacers President Larry Bird said of Whittington in August.
His rehab and recovery has been quite impressive, especially since he was moving on to the professional ranks after four seasons at Western Michigan. He’s not 100 percent yet, but he seems to be awfully close. That’s quite amazing considering someone landed on his left leg just six months ago.
It became clear in the preseason why the Pacers sought his services. He’s a versatile frontcourt player who attacks the boards, can operate comfortably in the post, and has quickly grasped the system. A quick rehab was just a bonus.