A little while ago, we at WearTesters discussed letting “you guys” in more, letting you get to know us more than just performance and YouTube. That brought you Nightwing Knows, Trash Talk, Weekender, and some other personal articles and stories (like NyJumpman23’s piece on the Lebron 13 weartest experience. We are human — regardless of seeding, shoes, connections, behind the industry scene activities, and sneaker news.
So, to that point, I come with this piece. For the record, I am not writing this for sympathy or hugs. I have been writing reviews since Professor K hung up all other brands and went to work for Nike back in 2004. I started on NikeTalk in the review sections and I sucked. I have been doing this for a while, even before Nightwing (but not as well), so you can probably guess I am older than most of you. With age comes injury, and with injury, this article.
I have never, never, been seriously hurt from basketball. Torn ankle ligaments, torn thumb ligaments, broken noses, split and stitched forehead, and an ear cartilage separation (as gross as it sounds) weren’t serious. The main joint in basketball — my knees — had always been good, even after years of playground, concrete, wood, rubber, and whatever court or surface, I have always been good. I lift a lot of weights and learned to jump and land properly at a young playing age, so impact in my back and joints was never an issue. The muscles in my legs were always strong and they supported my joints.
Until now.
About six months ago I closed out on a shooter. As I planted my left foot, I felt a pop of a serious, never-before-felt type. Scared, I walked off but wasn’t limping or in pain. After I drove home and tried to walk in the house, something was wrong — my knee was stiff and swollen. A couple of days off, then I got back in the gym. Two games in and I could barely walk off. Two more weeks off, thinking tendonitis, and I was back on court. Three or four games in, I felt the same pain, but it was manageable.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. An injury I generally chalked up to “old” and “miles” was causing me to wake up three or four times a night in pain. I can’t sit with my knee bent. I can’t stand more than 10-15 minutes. So, MRI, here I come.
Result? Torn meniscus. Torn medial collateral ligament. Bone spurs on the back of my kneecap so bad the doctor didn’t know how I was playing, plus fluid build-up behind the kneecap. Sounds bad, but I am told a 30 minute surgery and four to six weeks of recovery. Four to six weeks? No problem. That isn’t long, unless you are my age. Four to six weeks for a 20-year-old is cake.
I’m scared. Scared of not being able to play at the level that I expect myself to perform at. Not being able to jump, or play defense, or drive, or run like I do now prior to surgery. Ball is life, right? When ball is possibly taken from life, what then? How do you cope?
My reasons for writing this, besides letting you know what’s up, are as follows:
BALL AIN’T LIFE.
No matter how many times you say it, or write it, or post on IG, ball ain’t life. LIFE is LIFE. People got mad at Tony Romo years ago when he said “If losing this game is the worst thing that happens, I’m pretty good.” Now that’s real. He knew. Nothing on a court is more important than your family.
SOME SHOES SUCK.
Some WearTesters get cool stuff. We wear new shoes every week. We live the life. All of that is true, to some extent, but some shoes just suck. Cushioning doesn’t fit our game. Traction sucks and we slip and fall or stability is bad and we roll ankles. Yeah, I have tested more shoes than most will ever own. However, when you find a shoe that fits, that you play well in and you feel good afterwards, then have to move on to a lesser model, pain becomes a reality sometimes.
WEARTESTERS ARE HUMAN.
We look and play just like you. We aren’t NBA players, or even D1 ballers. We are guys who grew up and played high school ball, and if lucky, some college ball. We love the game for what it is — a beautiful, flowing, fast game of ups and downs. We play at the local high school open gyms, 24-Hour Fitness/LA Fitness, churches, playgrounds, and driveways. We could be the guy who crosses you over and hits a three, or the guy you just blew by backdoor for a layup. Don’t down or knock our games — we are you.
Take the information provided in performance reviews and apply it to your needs and game and purchase from there. I would bet every weartester can tell you a horror story that happened during the weartest process. Luckily mine have been few and far between. But next time you are commenting “test this one” or “when does review come out” or “test a retro” remember: our bodies need breaks too.
So I’m scared. Will I quit playing after this ordeal? Probably not, I haven’t quit playing because of it yet. But if the doctor tells me to quit or else I won’t be able to play with my kids, or run and walk correctly, or that I’ll be a broken shell when I am older, sorry — I’m done.
I have put some serious years in for this game. I will still be shooting in the driveway and watching my Blue Devils and Mavs every chance I get. I will still love the game, but like all love, it evolves and it grows. Part of growing is knowing the limits and possibilities, and how they apply to your life.
I hope and pray that I have not reached my limit, my on-court end. But if I have, I think of the possibilities ahead and smile.
Loved the article!!! Keep up the great work!
Hope for a fast recovery duke!
Yeah, me too.
Well written. I hope you recover and hopefully return to basketball. It seems you got your priorities straight and I’m glad you’re willing to share that message with the younger folks (even myself). I’m a prime example of taking ball too seriously. I was walking and stopped with my toes and felt the inside of my heel give in. Couldn’t walk for an hour or so but still went to ball anyway. I’m thankful it wasn’t an injury, but it makes me wonder how long my luck will last abusing my body like that. Message well taken.
This was a nice, refreshing read. I hope you a speedy and full recovery, Duke. Best wishes to you.
You are so right that ball is not life… your family and friends are. I hope you the best in your surgery and wish for a speedy and healthy recovery. God bless my brother!
hey, i totally sympathize with you.
im the same age as nightwing, but im 6’2 and 210lbs.
i was crazy about bball until high school and stopped for 7 years because i needed to pursue my career. came back 4 years ago trying to do every thing i used to do and the result is… broken leg ankle surgery on both ankles and a major knee problem (there is more). my knee is like yours almost and because of the knee pain i have i lost the passion to become stronger, faster, and higher (im not getting paid for playing ball). i hate to play in Lebron X, but that helps my knee a lot. the rose 5 and 6 are awesome because it has that impact protection as well as the payable function unlike the Lebron X. after hearing your story of wearing shoes that suck, i felt your pain man.
THANK YOU for your work. I hope and pray that the surgery will go well.
You have a beautiful family and you got to meet the legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar! Great Stuff Duke.
This is wonderfully written, Thank you for sharing. Really hit the heart.
I’ve been testing lot of kicks fore many of years and the one that got me good was the Lebron 9 weartest sample that I tore my ACL in. It’s having to learn to walk again, learning to use your muscles, etc. A lot of it is 20% Physical, and 80% mental after injury. You favor one leg/knee over an other. It’s a very tough, grueling process. But main thing is keeping a positive mindset and remember about having a support system that cheers you on. You’ll be back in no time. In the meantime, we got you. You’re our brotha. Keep your head up as all of us will for you, with you. We Are testers #Weartesters
I’m sorry to hear about your injury man. Hopefully a quick recovery, and if you aren’t able to keep on balling, I’d like to say thanks for all your performance reviews. Great stuff you been putting out.
This is a great article and takes me to a word that I love to spit out…Perspective. Ball is absolutely not life. It’s a hobby that we love as regular people but it’s definitely not the priority. I’m 5’7 and a solid 180 lbs. I used to be able to grab rim with both hands but now try my best to stay ground bound. Shin splints and knee issues that forced me into rehab have changed my game significantly to the point where I don’t even enjoy running games the way that I used to. Thanks for sharing with the readers and I hope that your surgery and recovery are smooth sailing or as smooth as one can hope given the nature of the injury.
wishing you a fast recovery
Hope the recovery goes well, Duke.
People got to understand what priorities means.
Also, there are many ways of people can stay involved in the sport like coaching, and testing the performance of basketball shoes like WearTesters staff does for examples.
Hope everything goes well man, prayers from Melbourne, Australia
Good luck man
Great stuff Duke! Hope your recovery goes well. You’ll be back. Ball is not life but you have a clear love for the game so you’ll be back. I feel you on the injury. I’ve sprained the crap out of my left MCL. Still playing even after realizing my mobility is nothing as it once was. Welcome to “Old Man Ball”! LOL!
I was firstly stumbled upon your reviews on counterkicks..love how witty and well written the review was and pretty much surprised that you ended up here in Weartesters. Hope everything goes well and wish you a speedy recovery !
Get better please!! 🙂 Thanks for the work you’ve done and wish you all the best in the recovering process! Ball ain’t life, but the weartesters’ reviews and work are pretty much life 😀
kudos
Good luke Duke! Wish you a fast recovery from Dallas 🙂
all the work weartesters have done are valuable to the basketball culture.
I’ve always been a fan of your reviews Duke, ever since I’ve read your take on the performance aspect of shoes over there at NT. I wish you well and I hope you have a fast recovery!
Get well soon Duke, and give your family a big hug, family first!!!
Good luck on the surgery and the recovery Duke! It’s good to have the pains and issues checked and fixed than leaving it to heal by itself incorrectly.
Best of luck on your surgery and recovery! Prayers to both you and your family. Really appreciate your dedication for us and the love of the game!
Duke,
Here’s wishing you a speedy, healthy, and complete recovery. Thank you for sharing your situation. I also have dealt with a few ankle and knee injuries, but thank God it’s been nothing to serious. While many say Ball Is Life, I would change that to say Ball Is A Part of My Life since there are things that are more important. At the top of that list would be one’s health as well as being to get through the day pain free. Keep us posted on your recovery!!
Nice personal read.
It humanizes the person behind the persona, as many of these message boards tend to have people pick brand loyalty and internet social climbing over common sense, and then even their own humanity. Many were, and are, positioning themselves to get free stuff, or trying to be the next internet “influencer”. I’ve said this before to you Duke, I absolutely hate the fact that some of the reviewers cannot be honest about what is deemed the most popular brand, especially with their overpriced, piss poor quality, buffoonish color makeup “performance beast” models, in fear of pissing off a large audience of brand sycophants, those that congregate on brand specific sneaker websites.
As much as some do not like Kanye West, he is changing all of that. Along with Pharrell, a whole new era of sneaker interest is being spawned through those who do not give a damn about what anyone thinks on those other forums, which will mean that balance will be regained, so that people like yourself can say with all due honesty that this brand in particular has been insulting the public with the product they’ve been producing over the last ten years.
Remastering my ass.
So again good read, and good luck.
AWESOME PIECE!!! I’m 26 about to be 27 and have been playing since 11. I would play 5x a week with three of those days for 7hrs. I would play outdoors mostly but towards 20yrs old and beyond its mostly indoors now. I haven’t been to the doctor but I take over the counter pills to numb the pain after every 4hrs of game time at the gym non stop which I do 3x a week now. The pills are for my knee joints. It hurts like hell where I can barely walk and feel like an old man even tho I’m still young. If I sit down and try to get up I can’t take a step, I have to fully stand straight for 30seconds before I move. Otherwise I literally almost fall cuz my knees just give on me. My girl and fam do tell me I need to tone it down but ball is life I say. I’m on the verge of becoming a Police Officer and I know I should get this checked out but I haven’t smh. It’s only my knees that give up on me, hurt and make a noise everytime I move. I’ve never had an injury playing ball either. Yes i keep on playing as the pills I take before playing ball actually reduce the pain immensely.
Oh and my job where I do 16hr shifts here and there is being a security officer at the Willis Tower. It involves standing the whole shift. But if any of you weartesters fam ever come to Chicago let me know and I’ll get you guys in the Skydeck for free! VIP style lol
Bryan if this is possibly the end. It was a great run. I’ve been a fan of yours since NT and could always count on your opinion. But I know what you’re going through now. I tore my ACL and medial horn on my meniscus. Played on it unstable for 9 years because I didn’t have insurance. Buckled on me countless times. All I can say is I know you’ll be back. My prayers for you and hope family and for your speedy recovery. 4-6 weeks isnt easy, but it’s fast from the worst. Best wishes.