Kings rookie Carter recalls challenges of lengthy injury recovery originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
It’s never easy looking on from the sidelines while recovering from a significant injury.
That was especially true for Kings rookie guard Devin Carter, who spent the first 5 1/2 months of his NBA career recovering from an offseason shoulder surgery.
The Kings’ first-round pick sat down with NBC Sports California’s Morgan Ragan on “Kings Central” and revealed the toughest part of his lengthy rehab from shoulder surgery.
“I think honestly just watching everybody play, and I’m not able to, was just the biggest thing,” Carter told Ragan.
“It’s just like everybody is doing what they love to do and you just have to watch people do what you love to do.”
Carter, the No. 13 overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, was one of the draft’s best two-way threats at his position and entered the NBA summer league with lofty expectations.
The moment to take the court during the summer never came for Carter, however. The guard was forced to undergo surgery on a shoulder injury sustained during a pre-draft workout.
It was then that the extended recovery process began, which ended up teaching Carter a lot about the realities of the league.
“Honestly, everything happens for a reason, though,” Carter added. “It gave me a chance to sit back and observe our team, our players but also our opponents and see the speed of the game, physicality, just everything before I played my first game.”
Carter’s much-anticipated debut came on Jan. 3 during the Kings’ 138-133 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, as his father, Anthony, a member of Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins’ staff, looked on from the visitor’s bench.
One thing’s for certain: Carter gained more than he lost throughout a long, treacherous road to recovery.
