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In the NBA, overall basketball and most other sports, a torn Achilles tendon is widely considered to be one of the most difficult injuries to return from. Overstretching the Achilles tendon can lead to players rupturing them, which inadvertently requires a surgery and a recovery time of anywhere between 6-12 weeks.
In quite a few cases, players might lose their natural athleticism and might never return to their prime with respect to overall sporting ability. In fact, only three players in NBA history have managed to return to All-Star form after suffering an Achilles tendon rupture. The following article looks at all three of them.
The three NBA Players who made it to the All-Star team after suffering Achilles rupture
Out of the three, only one current NBA player has managed to make it back to the All-Star team after recovering from a torn Achilles. The US Olympics basketball contingent had three NBA/WNBA players who have previously recovered from a torn Achilles. Apart from Kevin Durant, WNBA players Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart also recovered from similar injuries and played a part in bringing home the gold medal for Team USA.
Regardless, the following three NBA legends have returned to the All-Star team after suffering such an injury:
#3 Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant suffered his Achilles injury during the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. During a drive past Serge Ibaka, Durant tore his Achilles tendon and had to be taken off. The fact that it was the last time the he played for the Golden State Warriors was even more painful for fans worldwide.
Regardless, he sat out for an entire season after his move as a free agent to the Brooklyn Nets, and became the third player to be selected as an All-Star after recovering from an Achilles injury. Kevin Durant was obviously part of the All-Star team in 2019 although the Warriors lost, after which he was recently selected as an All-Star in 2021, again.
#2 Dominique Wilkins
The Human Highlight Film tore his Achilles during a January 1992 match against the Philadelphia 76ers. It was his tenth season in the NBA, with his overall 28.1 ppg also earning him a call-up to the Eastern Conference All-Star reserve team. Two days after the January 28th match, he went through surgery and made a return the following season.
Wilkins went on to earn two further All-Star callups in the coming seasons despite not being at his very best post-injury. He was unlucky to have never won the NBA title, and was traded by the Atlanta Hawks to the LA Clippers two years after making his return from the injury. Regardless, his performances proved to be of All-Star caliber even after the injury despite him losing quite a bit of steam.
#1 Kobe Bryant
The late LA Lakers’ legend Kobe Bryant suffered his Achilles rupture in April 2013. The injury meant that Bryant’s season ended after just 6 games, and he was forced into surgery soon after. Bryant was playing the second-highest minutes towards the start of the NBA season, trailing only rookie Damian Lillard in minutes until then.
Bryant was 34, suffered for more than a season, but managed to produce another 20+ ppg season before calling it quits once and for all. Before retirement, he earned another All-Star callup after averaging more than five rebounds and five assists along with 22.3 points per game. He became the second NBA player to have made the All-Star team after recovering from a torn Achilles as a result.
