Story by
"That's not even a question" - Donte DiVincenzo's doctor says the Wolves guard will return this season
- Story by
- "That's not even a question" - Donte DiVincenzo's doctor says the Wolves guard will return this season
Players are dropping left and right these days. We're only one week into the regular season, yet roughly 100 players have already been ruled out due to injury. That's about 15 percent of the entire NBA.
It's been a rough start on the injury front. So any positive health news is welcome right now. And Donte DiVincenzo has some.
Advertisement
A non-contact play in Game 4
DiVincenzo is part of the 2026-27 Minnesota Timberwolves roster. At least on paper.
The team has played seven games so far. He hasn't appeared in a single one. The reason? Same as the guys mentioned above. Only his injury — a non-contact one, to make matters worse — happened on April 25. Game 4 of Minnesota's first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, to be exact. So months before the 2026-27 regular season even started.
Advertisement
The club nobody wants to join
The diagnosis? A torn right Achilles tendon. Kevin Durant. Damian Lillard. Tyrese Haliburton. Jayson Tatum. All of them know what that feels like.
Of course, DiVincenzo needed surgery. The recovery was then expected to take roughly a year. Not exactly what you want to hear. Especially for a guy who had started all 82 games for Minnesota the previous season.
In that stretch, DDV put up 12.2 points, 4.1 boards, 3.8 dimes and 1.3 steals in 30.4 minutes a night. Ever the reliable shooter, Donte also knocked down 37.9 percent from downtown.
Advertisement
Ahead of schedule in Minny
A full year of recovery? That would've meant a return no earlier than April 2027. Pretty much at the end of the regular season.
Well, that timeline no longer holds. DDV is not on schedule. Luckily for T-Wolves fans, it's the good kind of not being on schedule. He's ahead of it.
The proof came in a video the team put out recently. The setting? A doctor's office. Orthopedic surgeon Martin O'Malley sits down with DiVincenzo there and walks him through the recovery.
Advertisement
"We can easily say you're on schedule, if not certainly ahead of schedule with your strength and all your numbers," O'Malley told him.
The original goal?
"When this happened, the goal was to be back for this season," O'Malley said. "That's not even a question."
He added that their next meeting will be "in Brooklyn or New York."
Advertisement
Why the Wolves need their guard back
Chris Finch's group looked very good early on. The starting lineup was already strong. Then they added Jonathan Kuminga to it. LaMelo Ball joined the mix, too, forming an excellent backcourt with Anthony Edwards.
Then Ant went down.
That's when the honeymoon phase ended.
Minnesota started 3-0. Now the Wolves sit at 4-3. Rudy Gobert? He has become a major target of criticism since then.
A healthy DiVincenzo would certainly help right now, but Minnesota will have to wait a little longer for him.
Advertisement
The good news? Not nearly as long as they first feared.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
