It went silent. Everyone went dead silent.
With just a little over six minutes left in the first quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics continued going at it in a thrilling, hyped season opener for basketball. Cavaliers' LeBron James went in the for the tip while Celtics' Gordon Hayward reached for the catch, and that's when everything turned silent.
Hayward landed awkwardly on his left leg, which bent forward, and this was simply not a pleasant sight to see.
The entire arena's hearts and mouths dropped to the floor.
Celtics Jaylen Brown had his jaw down in shock over what he had just witnessed. Dwyane Wade, his teammate, bent down on his knees and began to say a few words to himself in prayer to Hayward. James walked over to Hayward as his leg was put into a cast trying his best to give words of encouragement and comfort.
Boston gathered in a little huddle, arms over one another, as they laid their heads on each other's shoulders, still in major shock over the tragedy that came over their teammate.
Hayward, on the other hand, didn't react much to it. He remained strong from start to finish--almost as if he felt no pain at all. Of course, a few little facial expressions suggested slight pain. From the moment he laid on the floor, leg bent upwards, to the moment he was wheeled off the court in a stretcher, he remained calm.
Tweets immediately flooded Twitter when the injury happened, many using the tag "#PrayForGordonHayward". Oklahoma City Thunder's Paul George, who suffered a similar injury in 2014, was among the tons of players from the league who tweeted the hashtag.
Former Los Angeles Lakers' all-star Kobe Bryant offered his own message of encouragement to Hayward on his instagram just a day after this incident:
Be sad. Be mad. Be frustrated. Scream. Cry. Sulk. When you wake up you will think it was just a nightmare only to realize it’s all too real. You will be angry and wish for the day back, the game back THAT play back. But reality gives nothing back and nor should you. Time to move on and focus on doing everything in your power to prepare for surgery, ask all the questions to be sure you understand fully the procedure so that you may visualize it in your subconscious while being operated on and better the chance of it’s success. Then focus on the recovery process day by day by day. It’s a long journey but if you focus on the mini milestones along the way you will find beauty in the struggle of doing simple things that prior to this injury were taken for granted. This will also mean that when you return you will have a new perspective. You will be so appreciative of being able to stand, walk, run that you will train harder than you ever have. You see the belief within you grow with each mini milestone and you will come back a better player for it. Best of luck to you on this journey my brother #mambamentality always.
Just like Kevin Ware, Paul George and Hayward, this should remind all of us how fragile we truly are. The NBA, in tough times like this, shows how everyone comes together so naturally and beautifully.
