Rising up and throwing it down – Shaun Livingston

The NBA’s Washington Wizards are having a tough season to say the least (Gilbert Arenas, gun play, lack of wins, etc.) and feel-good stories are hard to come by. One, though, does exist for the team in the reemergence of one of its players, Shaun Livingston.

Shaun was a highly touted point guard coming out of high school. So highly touted in fact that he was drafted straight from high school with the 4th pick overall by another not so successful franchise, Los Angeles Clippers. As is the case with the Clippers and their draft picks, bad karma reared his ugly head. Shaun suffered a devastating injury just two-plus years into his career. And we mean devastating. Shaun suffered tears in the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and lateral meniscus. He also dislocated his patella, besides the previously diagnosed dislocation of his tibia-femoral. Here’s a quote from when the injury happened:

“It’s probably the most serious injury you can have to the knee,” Clippers physician Dr. Tony Daly said Tuesday. “He might miss all of next year.”

In fact, Shaun missed almost two years. But he is back. And he showed he can still throw it down.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88_NELVn4Lo]

This is still a very young person who has gone through a tremendous physical injury and no doubt suffered from doubts about his future on the court and overall long-term health. Great to see him back and enjoying again the game he loves.