Former Duke basketball star Brandon Ingram will be sidelined to start the 2026-27 NBA season.
The unofficial start to the 2026-27 NBA season is underway as 29 teams hosted media day on Monday. This gives fans and reporters their first look at the teams as a new season will get underway within a few weeks.
But with the start of the new season underway, there's been some bad news regarding a few former Duke players. The latest to receive injury news that was disappointing is about forward Brandon Ingram.
After spending time in Toronto, Ingram was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers this offseason in the Kawhi Leonard deal that is finally official. Ingram returns to the city after playing a few years with the Los Angeles Lakers. But his start to his Clippers career will be a little delayed.
On Monday, it was revealed that Ingram will miss the beginning of the 2026-27 season due to an injury. It's the first time anyone outside of the team has heard of the injury and reports state that Ingram had a partially torn Achilles tendon and heel surgery recently.
Ouch.
For the Clippers, it's tough news as well as they moved on from Leonard to try and acquire more talent. But they were docked draft picks this offseason in the salary cap circumvention scandal. Now, there's more bad news with the Ingram injury as they hoped he would be a key player in their rotation right away.
Ingram was also looking for a fresh start after spending time in Toronto. Going back to Los Angeles and earning some key playing time early was ideal for him. But with this injury, he's going to have to miss more time.
Over his 10 year career, Ingram has averaged 19.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.6 blocks and 0.7 steals. He's a former No. 2 overall pick.
Brandon Ingram the latest former Duke star to be hurt
Over the weekend, it was revealed that Kon Knueppel would also miss some time with an injury of his own. Knueppel is entering his second season after being one of the top rookies in the NBA last season.
But Knueppel is dealing with a hamstring injury that will cost him his entire preseason. He will be re-evaluated ahead of the regular season opener in a few weeks but he could miss that game against Brooklyn as well.
The hope is that Knueppel can get on the court sooner than later and build on his big rookie season.
