Atlanta Hawks rookie centre Henri Veesaar has suffered a torn right ACL and is expected to miss the entire 2026-27 NBA season.
The injury occurred during a workout on 15 September. Veesaar will undergo surgery in October.
Atlanta acquired the 22-year-old with the No. 52 pick in June's NBA Draft after trading up five places to select the former North Carolina centre.
Henri Veesaar's rookie season is over before it ever began.
For Atlanta, that's disappointing.
For Veesaar, it's brutal.
The Hawks didn't simply end up with the 22-year-old centre on Draft night. They moved from No. 57 to No. 52 and included cash considerations specifically to get him.
There were reasons to be intrigued.
Veesaar arrived from North Carolina after averaging 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 blocks while shooting 60.8% from the field and 42.6% from three.
For a near seven-footer, that combination of size and perimeter shooting immediately made him an interesting development prospect.
Then Summer League offered another glimpse.
Across five games in Las Vegas, Veesaar averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in only 20.4 minutes.
He also shot 38.9% from three.
One performance particularly stood out.
Against Boston, Veesaar scored 20 points in 23 minutes, making four of his six three-point attempts while adding four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
None of that guaranteed an NBA rotation role.
Summer League never does.
But it gave Atlanta reasons to believe its second-round investment might be capable of contributing sooner than expected.
Now all of that development is effectively paused.
A torn ACL is difficult for any player, but the timing is especially cruel for a rookie.
Veesaar was about to enter his first NBA training camp, learn Atlanta's system and begin competing for minutes against NBA players.
Instead, his first professional season will revolve around surgery and rehabilitation.
Atlanta loses something too.
The Hawks entered the Draft looking for additional size, and Veesaar offered a particularly interesting skill set because of his ability to stretch the floor.
At 22, this season was supposed to provide the first evidence of how those skills translated to the NBA.
That answer will now have to wait until 2027-28.
There is an important distinction, though.
Missing a rookie season doesn't erase why Atlanta wanted Veesaar.
He's still only 22.
His college production still happened.
The shooting ability is still there.
And the flashes Atlanta saw during Summer League don't disappear because his development timetable has suddenly become much longer.
The challenge changes.
Instead of proving he belongs in an NBA rotation this season, Veesaar now has to attack a long rehabilitation and eventually return without losing the mobility and confidence that made his combination of size and skill so intriguing.
Atlanta traded up because it believed there was value at No. 52.
It may still be right.
Unfortunately, everybody now has to wait an extra year to find out.
LEAN EDGE VERDICT: This is a particularly cruel injury because Henri Veesaar had yet to play a single regular-season NBA game. Atlanta traded up to draft him, his college numbers showed genuine shooting potential for a player his size and his Summer League performances offered encouraging early signs. None of that guarantees what he would have become as a rookie, but losing an entire development season matters. At 22, Veesaar still has plenty of time. For now, though, one of Atlanta's more intriguing young projects has been put on hold before it properly started.