Taurean Prince has not appeared in a game for the Milwaukee Bucks this season since November 4 against Toronto. He popped up on the injury report with a seemingly insignificant neck injury that turned out to be a herniated disc. Prince underwent surgery and has been sidelined indefinitely since.
Surgery, doctors told him, was his only path back to basketball. It’s not a decision he would have made if he didn’t have the juice in his legs for several more NBA seasons.
Prince determined to make comeback following would-be career-ending injury
“It was definitely a tough process, definitely tough getting the news,” Prince said via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “The only way to hoop again would be to get the surgery. So that was my mindset from the jump. Really just taking everything in and knowing how serious of a situation it was.”
Over the past two seasons between the Bucks and Lakers Prince has been one of the game’s more durable players. In Milwaukee last year he missed only two games and made 73 starts. This season, he only got eight games in before injury struck. When he’ll return still isn’t certain, but it’s not the end for Prince.
“100 percent. I’m gonna play again for sure.”
Covering stops in six different cities, Prince has played 10 seasons in the league, totaling 590 games and averaging 9.8 points. Making a name for himself as a lights-out sniper, he is a career 38.4% 3-point shooter. Dating back to last season, Prince has drained threes at over a 43% clip.
By having surgery to prolong his career, Prince hopes to get back to doing the same at some point.
“If I was 35, 36 and was in a position where my kids were a little older and maybe I felt like I didn’t have time left, then I probably wouldn’t have got the surgery and just carried on about my life, but I still feel like I got a lot in the tank. I’m only 31. God blessed me with these talents so I feel like I should exert ’em till the end. And after that, I’ll have plenty of life to live and plenty of time to be a great husband and a great dad.”
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