Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand centre Steven Adams is poised to miss the remainder of the NBA season with the sprained knee ligament, US media is reporting.
The injury has sidelined Adams from playing for the Memphis Grizzlies since late January, having missed 35 games in that time.
ESPN reported on Sunday the 29-year-old won't recover in time to play in the team's post season beginning on Sunday next week, having locked up the number two seeding in the Western Conference.
Adams was who had been initially expected to miss little more than a month, averaged an impressive 8.6 points and 11.5 rebounds in 42 regular-season games.
The Grizzlies have denied that Adams is definitely out for the season, issuing a report that had undergone a stem cell injection during the week will "be reevaluated in approximately four weeks".
But ESPN has reported that sources had indicated Adams would now miss the post-season beginning next Sunday (NZ time).
Last October Adams signed a new two-year contract extension with the Grizzlies, looking to continue a career that features seven seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and one term at the New Orleans Pelicans before joining Memphis.
- RNZ