The basketball career of Minnesota Timberwolves big man Nikola Pekovic is now facing sudden uncertainty, with the 30-year-old seven-footer forced to deal with severe ankle pain in recent months.
Pekovic, the last pick of the 2008 draft, has spent his entire six-year NBA career with the Timberwolves organization beginning in 2010. In each of his six seasons, he was forced to miss double digit games due to injury.
Once valued tremendously by Minnesota, the days of seeing 30 minutes per contest are gone for Pekovic, who was ruled out for the rest of the season back in September. He appeared in just 12 games during another injury-riddled campaign last season, averaging 13 minutes per game.
Pekovic has dealt with various injuries for his entire career, and with each one gradually piling up, he is now forced to face the hardest decision of his career: Whether or not to retire.
“For two years, I have struggled with this (ankle) injury”, Pekovic said at a recent press conference (as translated by Sportando). “I have been mentally exhausted. This year I went to Minneapolis for two months and I did everything possible to return to the court, but there are times where you simply can’t. I can’t run without pain.”
Nikola Pekovic signed a five-year, $60 million deal with the Timberwolves back in the summer of 2013, impressing during his first few seasons with the organization. Those in Minnesota had viewed him as a valuable piece of their future.
While still on the Wolves’ active roster, Pekovic will remain sidelined for the remainder of the 2016-17 season and potentially beyond.
In 271 career games, Pekovic is averaging 12.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Up until this point, he has not played more than 65 games in any season of his career.
