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There is no timetable on his return, but Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that there's a chance he could return before the playoffs are over.
This is the first time Westbrook will ever miss an
According to Royce Young of Daily Thunder, the team says the injury came in the second quarter of Wednesday's game against the Houston Rockets.
There's no official announcement, but Westbrook went down hard on a silly play by Patrick Beverly. He was going to the bench with the ball to call a timeout when Beverly tried to steal it and banged into his knee.
Again, there's no official word if this was the play that tore his meniscus:
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It's a catastrophic loss for the Thunder if he is out for the rest of the playoffs.
Reggie Jackson is a solid back-up. But he never played major minutes, and the Thunder's guards behind him are suspect.
This iteration of the Thunder has basically never played without Westbrook. Kevin Durant has the tools to take a team on his back, but Westbrook has been on the court for 85% of his minutes this year.
We just don't know what the Thunder will look like now.
Here's the full statement from OKC general manager Sam Presti:
“Our players' health is our first and foremost concern. The Thunder’s medical team and several specialists we consulted with determined that Russell undergo a procedure to address the issue. We have thoroughly discussed this with Russell. Despite being the competitor and teammate that he is, he respects and understands the decision and is committed to come back even stronger. Certainly Russell is a leader and core player for this team, but we are in the midst of the playoffs and I know other players are determined to step up and contribute. We have a resilient group of players who have always taken pride in playing as a team and that approach will continue."