Key Duke basketball reserve Maliq Brown injured in game at Virginia. Here’s what we know
With Duke owning a big lead and en route to another easy ACC basketball win Monday night, the No. 3 Blue Devils lost one of their key players to injury.
Maliq Brown, a 6-9 junior forward, injured his left shoulder late in the first half of Duke’s 80-62 win at Virginia and was taken to the locker room at John Paul Jones Arena. He did not return to play during the second half and is sidelined with a dislocated left shoulder, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
“We’re going to get him imaging, hopefully, right now tonight, find out what the deal is, and then go from there,” Scheyer said. “I don’t know more than that.”
Duke held a 15-point lead when it lost Brown to injury with 1:21 to play in the first half.
While playing defense, Brown reached with his left arm and deflected the ball away from Virginia’s Ishan Sharma. Brown immediately grimaced and grabbed his upper left arm in the triceps area. Play was stopped and he went to bench, where Duke’s medical staff escorted him to the locker room.
Brown returned to the Duke bench during the second half with his left arm in a sling. After the game, Duke basketball athletic trainer Jose Fonseca walked with Brown out of Duke’s locker room to get tests done on the shoulder.
It’s the third time an injury has left Brown unable to play for the Blue Devils this season. He missed one game in December due to a toe injury, then was out four games and all but one minute of a fifth due to a sprained knee he suffered in Duke’s 86-78 win over Notre Dame on Jan. 11.
Monday night was Brown’s 21st game played for Duke this season. He’s appeared as the top reserve in every game he’s been healthy.
“He’s been a great teammate,” Duke freshman forward Kon Knueppel said. “He’s not super aggressive offensively and and he’s very unselfish and great passer. But I mean, he’s obviously a presence defensively. He deflects every pass, and we knew that even from the summer. So, I mean, he’s very, very impactful for our team.”
A transfer from Syracuse, Brown has played in 17.8 minutes per game for Duke this season. He averages 2.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
Duke’s next game is Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York against Illinois (17-9).
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Key Duke basketball reserve Maliq Brown injured in game at Virginia. Here’s what we know."