Dennis Smith's physical anomaly: "They went into the operating room, operated on me and saw an extra cruciate ligament"

Dennis Smith Jr. is already in Madrid to undergo a medical examination and signing of his contract with Real Madrid. An examination in which the doctors of the white club will be surprised, if they do not know the history of the American leader, because the player has a physical abnormality rarely seen in sport. Or at least it was rarely said.

Smith tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during his senior year of high schoolplaying for Trinity Christian School in North Carolina. The diagnosis was clear, as in this case of injuries: he was going to be out of basketball for a year. But in less than two months he was backwith all the explosiveness he showed later in his career. According to him, although it seems strange, it is due to an anomaly that the surgeon later explained to him.

“I was put in the operating room, standard procedure, and when I woke up, the doctor said to me: “You had two crosses.” Turns out I had one more. He told me that 20% of humans have it, but it can only be discovered through surgery. It made my recovery process… super easy, you know? Obviously, I lost my strength, but once I was able to get through it… it took me two or three months to get back into the field. They said I was going to be out for a year,” the player explained a few months ago on Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem's podcast. It's a unique case, despite the 20% humans the player says , and it's hard to believe.

A bonus for Chus Mateo

With these superhero conditions and an impressive vertical jump, Dennis Smith Jr. joined Chus Mateoafter seven years of experience in the NBA. He was the ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft and played 326 games in the NBA for the Mavericks, Knicks, Pistons, Blazers, Hornets and Nets.who he played with last season.

After failing to find a team in the NBA and having to play for the Wisconsin Herd in the G Leaguehe arrives in Europe to give Real Madrid a defensive and physical boost that will help them in the decisive months of the season.