With their loss last night to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the play-in tournament, the New Orleans Pelicans’ season is officially over.
That means both the players and coaches are now shifting into offseason mode, and for veteran guard CJ McCollum, that could mean time for surgery.
Along with his injured thumb, CJ McCollum played the final seven games of the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder, sources tell @TheAthletic.
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) April 13, 2023
It'll be a long offseason for the Pels' veteran guard.
For those unaware, McCollum has been dealing with a thumb injury that has needed surgery for the last few months. But instead of opting to receive the surgery and miss an extended period of time recovering, McCollum decided to soldier through the pain for the sake of the team.
“I delayed it to try and help our team get to the playoffs, and we came up short,” CJ McCollum said after the Pelicans’ loss to the Thunder. “I was doing what I could to try and help out the team.”
McCollum’s efforts were indeed noble, as the tenth-year guard contributed 20.9 PPG and 5.7 APG (a career-high) en route to the team’s first winning season since 2017-18. McCollum was also second on the team in starts with 75 (trailing only Jonas Valanciunas, who had 79).
On top of playing through a right thumb injury, McCollum also played through the final seven games of the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder.
McCollum told the media that he will likely get surgery to repair his right thumb next week. And while he hasn’t officially said anything about his shoulder yet, it is probable that he will also be getting surgery on that at some point during the offseason – considering the severity of the injury.
Last summer, McCollum inked a 2-year, 64-million dollar extension that will keep him under contract with the team through the 2025-26 season.