Jason Burgos
In a surprisingly honest moment during an interview this week, Hall of Famer and Detroit Pistons legend Grant Hill suggested that negligence by the Orlando Magic medical team in 2004 ruined what could have been an even more impressive NBA career.
When Hill entered the league as the third overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, it wasn’t long before he showed he could be one of the top stars in the game. He won Rookie of the Year honors and was voted as an All-Star in six of the next seven years. In 2000-2001, he only played in four games and was still voted in because of how big a star he was among NBA fans.
He missed almost all of that season — his first with the Magic after signing a seven-year, $92 million deal — due to complications after undergoing surgery to deal with an ankle issue he had been battling through for quite some time.
In a new interview with the Cousins podcast, hosted by fellow NBA greats Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, Hill admitted some surprising “mistakes made managing my injury” by the Magic medical staff during rehabilitation after his surgery.
Grant Hill was put on the court after surgery three months earlier than recommended
The Pistons great claims that after getting surgery in May of 2000, he was on crutches for two months and still in a boot by July.
By Labor Day, or early September, the Magic already had him working out on the court and geared up for the start of the new season. The doctor who performed the surgery was not informed of how quickly Orlando got Grant back on the floor, and was stunned to read the newspaper and see the basketball star already playing.
The doctor called the Magic to inform them Hill was not to be on the court working out or playing until December. The seven-time All-Star admits he was naive to the process of proper rehabilitation and was not forced to play. But he also claimed he was under the impression the Magic had spoken with his surgeon and were following his recommendations.
Grant Hill stats (Career): 16.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 SPG
“I should have known what the rehab protocol was, and my agent should have known,” he said.
Hill claimed he was open with Magic medical staff about how his body was reacting to being on the court so quickly, but they blew it off as scar tissue breaking up.
Eventually, he was placed into a rehab protocol, but that was already after two months of practices and games. Hill believes that because of the mistakes the Magic medical staff made, it took him four years to get closer to normal.
In 2003, he needed to undergo microfracture surgery and incurred a staph infection after the procedure. “I feel like I was let down, and the medical community didn’t do me right,” Hill said.
NBA fans can only wonder “What if” the Pistons great’s rehab had been properly done. Maybe instead of being a seven-time MVP, he is a 14-time All-Star and one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
