Trail Blazers: CJ McCollum’s injury history and update on collapsed lung

A review of CJ McCollum’s injury history and an update on his latest ailment

Throughout the early part of his career, Portland Trail Blazers superstar guard CJ McCollum was able to stay remarkably healthy, missing just five games to injury in his first five seasons with the team. His recently collapsed lung, though, has marked an unfortunate trend of missed games.

The last few years have seen an uptick in missed time, including from sprains in both knees and multiple injuries to his left foot.

Recent seasons have also seen McCollum’s injuries get more serious. He suffered a fracture in his spine during the COVID bubble in Orlando and played through it. McCollum also missed time last season with a broken foot.

But his most alarming injury came this season when he suffered a collapsed lung on December 4 against Boston. McCollum missed 18 games and returned on January 17 against Orlando.

This article was updated on February 1.

CJ McCollum injury update:

McCollum took a shot to the ribs in the fourth quarter of the Trail Blazers’ blowout 145-117 home loss to the Boston Celtics and missed 18 games.

McCollum, who is the President of the player’s union, has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the season. He has been mentioned in possible deals for the Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons, Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart, and many others.

A list of CJ McCollum’s injuries — most recent to earliest:

CJ McCollum broken left foot, 2021

McCollum suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot on January 16 against Atlanta. He missed eight weeks. At the time of his injury, he was averaging a career-high 26.7 points per game.

He returned on March 18 and wouldn’t miss another game, finishing the regular season with 23.1 points and 4.7 assists per game.

CJ McCollum vertebral fracture, 2020

In the first seeding game in the Orlando bubble after the COVID shutdown in 2020, McCollum suffered a non-displaced transverse fracture of the his L3 vertebra. The injury did not cause him to miss any games, although he played in great pain until the offseason granted him time enough to heal.

CJ McCollum left knee strain, 2019

McCollum suffered what looked like a catastrophic knee injury on March 16 against San Antonio, but was able to return for the playoffs.

CJ McCollum left ankle sprain, 2018

McCollum missed one game with a sprained left ankle in December of 2018.

Hopefully, CJ can quell the rising trend of health issues and return to the stable presence he was on the court, scoring and availability-wise.