This NBA season feels like a heartbreak waiting to happen. Every game adds another name to the injury list. Stars we love watching are dropping like flies. Some players have fought their way back, but many are still missing in action. And now, Grant Williams is out. Sixteen games into his run with the Charlotte Hornets, and his season ends. It’s like the sport these players dedicate their lives to is expressing tough love.

So, the Hornets wingman Grant Williams is out indefinitely after tearing the ACL in his right knee. The team announced this devastating news after Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Williams went all-out in a game that witnessed Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. steal a 114-101 win. The Hornets forward went down on a drive to the basket late in the fourth quarter with just under four minutes left. Thus, he injured himself and left the court in pain.

Senior NBA Insider Chris Hayes shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram. Within no time, the NBPA’s acting executive director and 4x NBA champ, Andre Iguodala, shared words of encouragement for the NBPA’s First Vice President. Yes, Grant Williams holds this elite office, too! So, via an IG Story, Iguodala shared:“Been building great culture… Small setback… Then back to business!”

Nobody had expected Andre Iguodala to respond to Grant Williams’ devastating injury. As an ex-Warriors player, Andre’s reaction comes months after Draymond Green (his former teammate) called out the Hornets’ star after their on-court scuffle earlier this year. But it just shows that no matter what you do on the court, camaraderie prevails in such tough times.

Throwback to when Draymond Green kept alive his beef with Grant Williams

In February 2024, Williams clashed with Warriors star Lester Quinones after an awkward confrontation with Miles Bridges. The latter swatted away Lester Quinones’ layup attempt during garbage time.  Players from both teams clashed, and Williams ended up near the Golden State Warriors’ bench. Draymond Green was unimpressed, stating,  “Grant Williams [has] got to stop it. He can’t keep being this tough guy. It’s going absolutely wrong for him.” Well, this wasn’t their first two and fro; they had several confrontations during the 2022 NBA Finals.

Draymond took another bitter jab at Grant Williams after the Charlotte Hornets star hit a blindside body check on Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarter. Green took to his X handle to send out a series of tweets, aimed directly at his nemesis. He wrote: “Grant Williams saying it’s not intentional fouling JT like that is mad wild. And he smiling about it.” It’s safe to say Draymond isn’t a fan of Grant Williams’ aggressive gameplay!

However, Andre Iguodala has decided to keep aside his former teammate’s sentiment and send words of encouragement for the injured star. At the end of the day, news of such devastating injuries can arouse sympathy and bring down the morale of even the greatest players. Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets have yet to update us more on Grant Williams’ ACL tear. You can expect surgery and a long recovery phase for the 25-year-old power forward.