Kyrie Irving left Brooklyn's 114-111 preseason victory over Los Angeles early Thursday after aggravating a facial fracture he suffered over the offseason, and the team announced Friday he won't play against the Lakers at all Saturday.
The Nets point guard suffered the injury just one minute into Thursday's contest after being bumped by Lakers guard Rajon Rondo. He didn't record a point, rebound or assist.
This isn't Irving's first run-in with this kind of injury.
The 27-year-old suffered a minor facial fracture playing for the Celtics in November 2017 after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face during a game. He also broke his jaw in December 2012 while playing for the Cavaliers.
Whether this problem will affect his success in his first season with the Nets remains to be seen.
Irving signed a four-year, $141 million deal in the offseason alongside Kevin Durant, who also signed a max contract but will likely miss all of 2019-20 recovering from an Achilles injury.
The six-time All-Star has averaged 22.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in his career.
His teams have reached at least the Eastern Conference finals in four of the last five seasons.