Kyrie Irving’s preseason debut with the Brooklyn Nets didn’t last very long.
Just one minute into the game, which took place in China, Irving’s face made incidental contact with the shoulder of Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo and immediately left the game.
Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post, Irving “tossed his facemask down, walked to the bench and cut loose with an expletive, in clear discomfort.”
Irving was wearing a protective mask on his face after suffering a facial fracture before the start of training camp but still made the trip.
The Nets are calling the latest injury a facial contusion and he is likely going to miss multiple preseason games — if not all of them just for precautionary reasons.
The 27-year-old has had a history of facial injuries. He broke his jaw in 2012 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and suffered a minor facial fracture in 2017 with the Boston Celtics.
Irving signed a four-year, $141 million deal with the Nets in July where he will team up with Kevin Durant next season. Durant is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season after rupturing his Achilles during the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors.
