Former Michigan Wolverines guard Caris LeVert is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing successful surgery to treat renal cell carcinoma of his left kidney on Monday.
Pacers guard Caris LeVert underwent successful surgery to treat renal cell carcinoma of his left kidney, team announces. He is expected to make a full recovery.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 26, 2021
He’ll remain out indefinitely for the Indiana Pacers as he continues his recovery, which won’t require any additional treatment.
LeVert was recently dealt to Indiana on January 16 as part of the mega four-team trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets that sent James Harden to Brooklyn and Victor Oladipo to Houston. Soon after the deal was completed, a physical that was required to complete the trade revealed a small mass on his left kidney; surgery was scheduled immediately afterwards.
“The surgery was performed by Dr. Jason Sprunger at Community North Hospital in Indianapolis,” the team said in a statement. “No further treatment is needed. Caris is expected to make a full recovery and will be out indefinitely. Further updates will be provided as needed.”
According to LeVert, the trade that necessitated the physical may be ultimately responsible for saving his life.
“I was playing in games. I hadn’t missed any games this season yet. I was feeling 100 percent healthy,” LeVert said. “So, in a way, this trade definitely showed and revealed what was going on in my body; so I’m definitely looking at it from that side and definitely humbled to know that this trade could’ve possibly saved me in the long run.”
In 103 career games with Michigan, LeVert became the 64th player in school history to record 100-plus career games, and was a member of their back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight appearances, as well as the NCAA Final Four and national championship game team.
He was originally drafted by the Pacers, but was soon dealt to the Nets. He’s averaged 13.1 PPG in 225 career NBA games.
– – Quotes via Blake Harper of YardBarker Link – –
