San Antonio Spurs center Charles Bassey will miss the rest of the season with a fractured left patella, the team announced Wednesday.
Bassey sustained a non-displaced fracture of the kneecap during Tuesday's 132-114 victory over the Orlando Magic.
"Somebody hit me with that at halftime," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the game. "Poor guy, he was just learning how to play."
Bassey averaged 5.7 points, 5.5 rebounds in 35 games (two starts) with the San Antonio.
Just last month, the Spurs converted Bassey's two-way contract into a regular NBA contract worth $10.2 million over four seasons.
Bassey, 22, also played 23 games last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected the 6-foot-9 230-pounder out of Western Kentucky in the second round of the 2021 draft. He has averages of 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 58 games.
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