Spurs big Trey Lyles out for season after suffering appendicitis

Trey Lyles’ 2020 season has come to a close.

The injuries keep piling up in the NBA‘s coronavirus bubble, as the San Antonio Spurs were dealt some unfortunate news about young power forward Trey Lyles. This latest piece of news will, unfortunately, force the Spurs to fight for one of the West’s final playoff spots without one of the more pleasant surprises they unearthed during the regular season.

Gregg Popovich confirmed Wednesday that Lyles came down with a case of appendicitis and underwent an appendectomy. The procedure will sideline Lyles for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, just as the Spurs started practicing ahead of the NBA’s return.

Trey Lyles quietly put together a solid season in 2019-20 for the Spurs.

Lyles, picked 12th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, spent his first two seasons bouncing around between the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz. After four up-and-down years that had some starting to throw the word “bust” around, Lyles found a groove in San Antonio, starting in 53 games for the Spurs this season. While the former Kentucky Wildcat was averaging just 6.4 points per game this season, his 5.7 rebounds a night were a career-best. The stats were ordinary, but he was starting to find a home in Popovich’s system.

San Antonio was already going to be without star forward LaMarcus Aldridge after a shoulder injury ended his season, and the injury to Lyles has made it even more difficult for the Spurs to really make some noise. Unsung heroes like guard Patty Mills, new signing Tyler Zeller or rookie Luka Samanic might need to step into more prominent scoring roles given this loss.

The Spurs are currently on the outside looking in, as they are just 12th in the West due to their 27-36 record. Without the services of Lyles and Aldridge, getting to the playoffs in Disney World is going to be a real challenge for San Antonio.