Finally, Livingston finds home in the NBA
NEW ORLEANS — Shaun Livingston refuses to watch the video, but he has seen pictures. That recent image of Celtics forward Gordon Hayward — screaming in agony, his ankle turned at such a ghastly angle that bone punctures green sock — made Livingston nauseous.
More than a decade has passed since Livingston became infamous on YouTube for one of the most gruesome knee injuries in the history of professional sports. Now an essential reserve for the defending NBA champion Warriors, he finds himself empathizing with Hayward, who will probably miss the rest of the season with a fractured left tibia.
“It’s the not-knowing that’s the worst part,” Livingston said. “He doesn’t know how long it’s really going to take to come back. He doesn’t know if he’s going to be the same player. He doesn’t know. … And that fear of
the unknown, it just brings you down. It casts a cloud over your future.”
If it’s hope Hayward seeks, he needs only to read up on Livingston’s well-chronicled journey. Livingston, pushing the limits of his prime at 32, signed a three-year, $24 million deal in July to stick with Golden State. After an injury-induced odyssey that featured eight teams — including two stints with the Wizards — in six years, he has finally found stability.
Fifteen months ago, Livingston purchased his first house since the Playa del Rey mansion he bought as an 18-year-old rookie with the Clippers. It was in the backyard of his Oakland hills home that Livingston married his longtime girlfriend, Joanna, in August. His future secured through the 2019-20 season, Livingston is content to help raise their 7-month-old daughter, Tyler Marie, and chase another ring with the Warriors.
“Just being in this situation, it’s amazing,” Livingston said. “Coming home, it’s like a renewed purpose. You’ve got a kid, you’ve got a wife who is kind of looking at you to provide stability. It’s cool. It’s something different, too. My first 12 years in the league, it was nothing like this.”
Livingston, drafted fourth overall out of high school in 2004, was one of the league’s most promising young playmakers when he came down awkwardly on a layup attempt on Feb. 26, 2007. In a freak accident known for its gruesomeness, he tore three of the four ligaments in his left knee. The next season, as he learned how to walk again, Livingston worried that he wouldn’t get another chance in the NBA.
During the next five seasons, Livingston slipped into a familiar routine: meeting new teammates, trying to ease coaches’ concerns about his left knee and scouring Yelp for decent places to eat. A two-year contract with Miami lasted 41 minutes on the court. Once considered a franchise cornerstone, he slogged through a three-week stay with Oklahoma City’s NBA Development League affiliate and two 10-day contracts with Washington.
“He just wanted to play,” said Warriors forward Kevin Durant, who was with Oklahoma City when the Thunder designated Livingston to the D-League’s Tulsa 66ers. “You can appreciate someone who just loves to play. You see where he is now because he put that work in, and he believed in himself.”
From 2008 to 2013, Livingston averaged 49 games per season and played for a half-dozen teams. Roster spots were so tenuous that he stopped unpacking and instead lived out of suitcases in rented apartments. After starting a career-high 54 games in 2013-14 for Brooklyn, Livingston became the 33rd player in NBA history to appear on at least nine teams when he signed a three-year contract with Golden State.
In Livingston, the Warriors have found an ideal backup for Stephen Curry. Playing behind a two-time NBA MVP allows Livingston to keep his minutes manageable. On a team loaded with three-point shooters, his penchant for post-ups adds variety to head coach Steve Kerr’s movement-heavy system. Livingston’s diverse NBA experience makes him a worthy sounding board for younger players.
“He’s one of my favorite people I’ve ever been around,” Kerr said. “He’s just got an incredible presence about him. He’s sharp, he’s wise, he’s competitive. But most of all, he just gets it.”
Livingston wanted to stay with the Warriors, the first team since the injury to give him a longterm opportunity, but he entered free agency knowing he would need to listen if another franchise presented a more lucrative offer. The $41.8 million he has made in his career, while a hefty sum to most, wasn’t enough for him to ignore price in what could be his last round of contract negotiations.
Golden State made Livingston a priority, agreeing to terms on that three-year, $24 million deal hours after signing Curry to what at the time was the biggest contract in NBA history. Livingston, one of three active NBA players in the nine-team club, will likely retire without reaching 10.
Little more than two hours before the Warriors’ season opener Tuesday night against Houston, as news rippled through the locker room of Hayward’s injury, Livingston pulled out his iPhone and tweeted at a player he barely knows: “@gordonhayward. Only God has ALL the answers.”
“Things happen to you for a reason,” Livingston later said. “It’s all about having the right perspective.”