Former Kentucky star Malik Monk out 6-8 weeks after suffering Summer League injury
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Charlotte Hornets selected former Kentucky star Malik Monk with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but he had his share of struggles as a rookie.
However, he came out strong in his Summer League debut on Saturday night, scoring an impressive 23 points to lead the Hornets.
As you can see in the highlights below, Monk was on fire from all over the court, guiding the Hornets to a narrow 88-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder:
Malik Monk puts up 23 for the @Hornets in his @NBASummerLeague debut! #NBASummer pic.twitter.com/V1CPVGjR0U
— NBA (@NBA) July 7, 2018
But that progress came with a major setback, as the Hornets announced after the game that Monk broke his right thumb and would miss the next 6-8 weeks:
INJURY UPDATE: Malik Monk will be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks after suffering a fractured right thumb in Friday's game vs. Oklahoma City #BuzzCity
?? https://t.co/w9PMWkFhQP pic.twitter.com/5mCR9H59Ch
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) July 8, 2018
As a rookie, Monk averaged 6.7 points, 1.4 assists and 1.0 rebounds while appearing in 63 total games. This coming season was going to be his chance to work his way toward more minutes, but missing the Summer League will hurt.
He should be back in time for the preseason, but he’ll have some catching up to do when he returns to the court.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
