Chauncey Billups Injury: Clippers Guard Lost For Season With Torn Achilles Tendon (VIDEO)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clippers guard Chauncey Billups will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his left Achilles tendon during Los Angeles' 107-102 victory over the Magic in Orlando on Monday night.

The team says an MRI on Tuesday confirmed Billups' injury.

Billups will return to Los Angeles on Thursday for further evaluation. The Clippers say a date for surgery hasn't been determined.

The five-time All-Star, whom the Clippers claimed off waivers in December, was averaging 14.9 points and 4.0 assists in 30.4 minutes per game this season.

Billups was having a huge night Monday, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter when he turned to run up the court and buckled to the ground with 5:48 left in the game. He was surrounded by trainers and teammates, but needed assistance on both sides to make it off the court.

Billups, who was selected third overall in the 1997 draft by the Boston Celtics, is playing for his seventh NBA club. One of them was the Denver Nuggets, who dealt him to New York with Carmelo Anthony as part of a three-team, 13-player trade with Minnesota last February.

Comments

[I M Right]

07:22 AM on 02/10/2012

Clippers karma.

[noahmarder]

12:28 AM on 02/09/2012

Sometimes karma is a long time in coming. Chauncey Billups undercut Richard Jefferson on 12/27/2004, causing him to rupture a ligament in his wrist. If Jefferson hadn't gotten his hand down, he would have hit the floor head first and possibly died. That was one of the dirtiest basketball plays I have ever seen.

[GeorgeGee]

12:43 AM on 02/09/2012

Wow. Pretty dramatic description. I'm an NBA junkie, and I really don't recall such a horrific incident. Nor have I ever heard anyone accuse Billups of being a dirty player. I think if Mr. Karma was at play here, he probably would have shown up sometime before 8 years. Is the play in question on You Tube?

[noahmarder]

01:46 AM on 02/09/2012

I was joking about the karma. I don't even believe in it. I haven't been able to find that video on youtube in the past, and the NBA will often pressure youtube into removing videos that portray it in a bad light. Jefferson was going for a dunk, and was hit well below his center of mass, causing him to rotate 180 degrees lengthwise as he fell. He was very lucky to have gotten his hand down before his head hit.

[CatfishJohn]

03:27 PM on 02/08/2012

And suddenly a serious dark horse title contender is no more. Would have loved to watch seeing Paul and Butler blend with and improve via the high basketball IQ of Billups...

[JHBH]

01:14 PM on 02/08/2012

Billups was as important as anyone on the roster in the Clippers' success this year - in fact, maybe their key player. The question will be whether his younger teammates learned enough from his leadership in the brief time he was on the court. Chris Paul in particular has to show that Chauncey has taught him well.

[LogicalMathMan]

12:38 PM on 02/08/2012

...and the Clipper curse lives on. Hope he recovers well enough for next year.

[bmwracer]

10:31 AM on 02/09/2012

I was thinking the same... Donald Sterling's gremlins at work yet again.

[Evanescence II]

10:17 AM on 02/08/2012

There seems to be an epidemic of injuries to players on every Team this season, obviously due to a condensed schedule (lockout) and a shortened preseason with far less time than usual for NBA athletes to prepare and train to condition their bodies for the rigors of playing intensely night after night and traveling.

[JacksonHts]

12:02 PM on 02/08/2012

Agree the lack of training camp and time between games is resulting in a ton of injuries. That being said, I guess the Knicks made a wise decision when they amnestied Billups to get the cap room for Tyson Chandler.

[Evanescence II]

11:06 AM on 02/09/2012

Tyson Chandler was awesome in last night's game!