Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a severe right pinkie injury during the Western Conference semifinal Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. The injury, which visibly disturbed players on the opposing bench, occurred when Vanderbilt attempted to block a dunk by Thunder center Chet Holmgren. His finger struck the backboard, resulting in an immediate and painful reaction.

Thunder guard Jared McCain described the scene, stating, "I mean, it just — it looked pretty gruesome in my opinion. I don’t even know, to be honest, what I was looking at. It looked pretty bad, though. So, prayers for him. Sending him love."

Vanderbilt was seen bending over in pain before exiting the game. Lakers coach JJ Redick confirmed the severity of the injury, saying, "I went to go check on him because it just looked bad. He was audibly screaming. Knew he had done something. We’re obviously disappointed. But that happened, and it’s just a freak injury."

Reports from ESPN indicated that Vanderbilt suffered a full dislocation of his right pinkie finger, requiring stitches as the bone broke through the skin. NBC’s announcers during the live coverage called the injury "gruesome."

The duration of Vanderbilt's absence remains uncertain; however, the Lakers are already contending without star Luka Doncic, who is battling a hamstring strain. The loss of Vanderbilt, who had played six minutes and scored two points, reduced the Lakers' nine-man rotation to eight. At the time of the injury, Holmgren's dunk had put the Thunder up 48-39 in the second quarter. Oklahoma City ultimately won the game 108-90, leading 61-53 at halftime.