Harry Giles was limited at Duke due to multiple knee injuries throughout his basketball career. He’s yet to play in the NBA, but the Sacramento Kings recently announced when the former Blue Devil will make his professional debut.

After a limited career with the Blue Devils due to multiple knee surgeries, forward Harry Giles declared for the NBA after his freshman season. The Sacramento Kings drafted him 20th overall, but he has yet to play any minutes for the organization. Many fans expected Giles to make his NBA rookie debut at some point this season, but the Kings recently announced that he will officially miss the entire season.

The media release notes that Harry Giles is “entirely healthy” and “experienced no setbacks” in his recovery. To fans who watched him as a Blue Devil last year, this is great news. At Duke, Giles only appeared in 26 games averaging 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 11.5 minutes. He was the top player in his recruiting class and expected to be a dominant forward in the NCAA. However, Giles missed his entire senior season before arriving at Duke after tearing his ACL in the first game and was out to start the college season due to a knee procedure.

The Kings will keep the former Blue Devil out as a precaution. This will give him a chance to focus on practicing and continuing to strengthen his knee. There are many benefits to Giles taking a year off, including additional time to get healthy, spending time around an NBA organization, participating in practice and workouts, etc.

NBA teams have taken this approach with other high profile NBA players, including Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Blake Griffin. The Sacramento Kings do note that Giles will officially make his NBA debut in the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League.

Overall, Sacramento is making the right choice on sitting Harry Giles for the season. Many fans would argue he had the same option at Duke. But, Giles chose to forgo a redshirt or staying another year in college to join the NBA.

The official statement from the Sacramento Kings can be found here. We wish the best for Harry Giles and can’t wait to see him in action this summer!