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Hornets' Gordon Hayward Has Fracture in Finger Injury; Listed as Day-to-Day

Tyler Conway@jtylerconwayFeatured ColumnistDecember 16, 2020

Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward plays against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game in Charlotte, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Chris Carlson/Associated Press

The Charlotte Hornets announced star forward Gordon Hayward suffered an avulsion fracture on the fifth metacarpal of his right hand.  

Hayward is considered day-to-day. The injury came in Monday's 112-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Hayward played 24 minutes, finishing with 14 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Injuries have derailed his career since suffering a gruesome leg injury in his first game with the Boston Celtics in 2017. He returned in 2018-19 but struggled the entire season to get back into a rhythm. As Hayward seemingly was coming into his own after a largely healthy regular season in 2019-20, he suffered a serious ankle injury in the Celtics' first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 30-year-old joined the Hornets on a four-year, $120 million contract in November, a deal that largely shocked the basketball world.

His absence from the lineup, even if brief, is a reminder how much risk Charlotte assumed by giving Hayward such a massive deal.