Jarred Vanderbilt Suffers Nasty Dislocated Pinky Injury In Game 1 Vs. Thunder

A nasty injury for Jarred Vanderbilt may have not just ruled him out for the game, but for an extended time.

In the second quarter of Tuesday’s Game 1, Vando tried to block a fastbreak dunk attempt by Chet Holmgren and, in the process, smacked the backboard with his hand. He immediately doubled over in very obvious pain and exited the game.

Late in the game, after Vando had already been ruled out for the contest, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that he had suffered a full dislocation of his pinky finger.

All dislocated fingers are not created the same. While Kobe Bryant memorably popped his back into place, that isn’t always the case with them, and especially one as gruesome’s as Vando’s was.

While the injury was never shown, the reaction of the OKC bench after the injury gives an idea of how nasty it was.

After the game, Charania confirmed that the bone broke through the skin, requiring stitches.

The Lakers already don’t have much in the way of forwards as is, so losing Vando against an OKC with lots of them is a blow. If it is a dislocation, which it sure looks to be, then it’s also likely not just a one-game injury either.

That it’s on his non-shooting hand might help the situation, but it seems more likely the Lakers will have to figure out a new plan and potentially insert someone else into the rotation in Vando’s spot moving forward. That could be Maxi Kleber if they’re looking to replace him with another forward, or it could be Bronny James, who stepped into the rotation when Austin Reaves was out.

The most important thing, though, is that Vando is healthy after what appears to be a pretty nasty injury.

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