Why you should praise Zion Williamson while sending up prayers for Jusuf Nurkic

Everything can change in a split second.

Just ask Jusuf Nurkic.

The latest gruesome injury — compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his lower left leg — happened to him during a national TV broadcast Monday night. It was horrible to watch as the Portland Trail Blazers’ big man’s leg snapped in half.

We need to let this serve as a reminder of the vulnerability sports puts us in, which brings me back to Zion Williamson. I remember when the great debate as to whether the Duke phenom should return or sit after suffering a knee injury as the NBA is the ultimate goal.

Was it worth the risk? Should he return for the NCAA tournament for a once-in-a-lifetime experience?

There were opinions flying all over the place. However, there was one that was the most troubling for me. I can’t remember which personality it was, but a national sports radio guy mentioned how major injuries in basketball rarely happen.

A scar from 19 stitches to the head and the fact my right ankle can predict an incoming storm serve as proof otherwise, but that’s just me. Sadly, the Nurkic injury brought back memories of ugly injuries to guys like Kevin Ware, Paul George and Gordon Hayward.

You’ll notice I didn’t mention guys like Joe Theismann, Marcus Lattimore or others from football.

I’m not here to argue against the fact football is a more brutal sport that makes players more susceptible to horrific injuries. But I think people should acknowledge the fact that all sports present risk.

In fact, many of the worst basketball injuries are of the non-contact variety.

Therefore, I think it’s wrong for sports talking heads to surmise that a player, like Williamson, should continue to play because they say basketball is mostly harmless. As I mentioned previously, I won’t judge a kid based on a decision about his future, especially when basketball players currently are essentially forced to play one season of college ball.

The situation has disappeared from the spotlight, as Zion made the popular decision of player and now has been one of the biggest stars of the NCAA tournament. But surely had he made the opposite decision he would have been criticized by many.

As hard as it is to watch the Nurkic injury, and others that were similar in the past, some people probably should. The threat is real and it’s a long road to come back from such incidents — at least for those who can bounce back.

Being a big man, Nurkic is going to have his work cut out for him and I wish him the best in his recovery, and I hope to see him back playing as soon as possible.

It’s awful any time we witness an injury of this nature, but at least he’s getting paid for taking the risk. There are plenty of others who aren’t, and that’s a shame.

This isn’t a plea for college players to be paid (because I don’t think they should be), nor am I going to continue to rant about how the one-and-done situation is terrible. Instead, I think it’s important people are aware of the risk that is always there.

You never know when it’s going to rear its ugly head. But when it happens, you know you’ll never be the same again.

That’s why I root for these guys to get the money while they can. You never know what the next split second has in store for you.