Will Jaden Ivey return this season from his injury to play in the NBA playoffs with the Detroit Pistons?
That’s now the big question with less than two weeks to go before the start of the first round.
The Pistons on Friday clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2019 and are likely to either be the 6-seed playing at the 3-seed New York Knicks or the 5-seed at the 4-seed Indiana Pacers. The Milwaukee Bucks are also in the mix and entered Sunday with a half-game lead over the Pistons.
Ivey has been out for more than three months since undergoing surgery a day after fracturing his left fibula — a major bone in the lower-leg — after he was upended on a loose ball play on New Year’s Day.
At the time, coach J.B. Bickerstaff raised some eyebrows when he declared two days later Ivey’s season was not necessarily finished.
“We’re hopeful that he’ll be back this season for sure,” Bickerstaff said.
A typical recovery for an athlete with Ivey’s injury is four to six months.
“It takes usually around two-and-a-half, three months for the bone to heal completely,” Dr. Clint Soppe, a sports medicine doctor at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles and orthopedic consultant for the MLS’ LA Galaxy, told the Free Press in early January. “But then to rehab all the way back takes another, you’re looking at four to six months typically.”
Ivey was at Pistons shootaround — a light team session several hours before a game — on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, hoisting 3-point shots during the short portion the media was allowed to watch, as seen in the video at the top of the page.
But he has yet to be cleared for five-on-five practice, clouding his return date from a significant lower-body injury. A first-round playoff return looks ambitious at best.
The Pistons have gone 28-17 since the Ivey injury. They are 16-9 with trade acquisition Dennis Schröder in the lineup.
Here’s what we know on Ivey’s injury recovery.
Jaden Ivey injury return update
Ivey spoke to reporters on March 13 for the first time since his unfortunate injury and struck a hopeful tone on his recovery.
“It’s been really quick, honestly, since I got injured,” Ivey said then. “I feel like things are progressing well. I’m doing my treatments on top of everything, I’m lining up to make a return. Whatever the time may be, I’m just trying to take it day-by-day. I know my body and I know when I’m ready to get back on the court and go full-throttle.
“I want to be out there so bad,” he said. “I’m putting in the work to get back.”
The team also updated his status at the time, revealing he had progressed to “weight-bearing strengthening exercises, running progression activity and stationary shooting” and would be re-evaluated in four weeks — that would make for an update April 13 when the Pistons play Game 82 in Milwaukee.
Jaden Ivey stats
Ivey, in his third season, was in the midst of his best performance yet, averaging 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and four assists per game while shooting 40.9% from 3 (63-for-154) in 30 games.
“I made improvements in my 3-point shot and showed I can shoot 40%,” Ivey said March 13. “I believe and I’ve always trusted in my 3-point shot, that’s something I continually wanted to work on and was shooting for with my speed and the gifts that Jesus has given me.
“Throughout that, the improvement was there, the passing, everything, to be able to play alongside an All-Star in Cade, you’ve gotta be able to put the ball in the hoop and make the right plays.”
Jaden Ivey contract future
The Pistons would love to have clarity on Ivey’s future.
Ivey, 23, was the No. 5 overall pick by the Pistons out of Purdue in the 2022 NBA draft. He has one more guaranteed year on his rookie deal with restricted free agency set for the summer of 2026. He is eligible for a rookie extension this summer, as is teammate and draft classmate Jalen Duren.
But the Pistons’ new regime, led by president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon, has seen its information gathering on Ivey limited to 30 games this season by his unfortunate injury.
Free Press Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa II contributed.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jaden Ivey injury update: Will he return for Pistons in NBA playoffs?
