Rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser has been diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot and will undergo season-ending surgery, the Clippers announced on Thursday.
Niederhauser sustained the injury during Wednesday’s victory over Indiana. He had six points, four rebounds and two blocks in eight minutes during that game.
The Clippers selected Niederhauser with the 30th and final first-round pick in the 2025 draft. The Swiss big man spent some time in the G League to open 2025/26, but had been playing some of his best basketball as of late, including recording 11 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 21 minutes during Monday’s win over Golden State.
“Yeah, he’s a game-changer,” head coach Tyronn Lue said after the game in San Francisco (story via Janis Carr of The Orange County Register). “I think his ability to roll to the basket, get offensive rebounds (is important), but the biggest thing is just defensively challenging every shot, blocking shots at the rim, but his energy was really good for us.”
According to Carr, Niederhauser said he worked on playing with more energy ahead of his rookie season, since he was criticized for being lackadaisical at times coming out of college — the 22-year-old spent two years at North Illinois prior to a breakout junior seasons with Penn State.
“I got questioned a lot for my motor,” Niederhauser said. “For a lot of people, I got questioned for that, so I took that seriously. I took that personally and worked a lot this summer during all the games.
“I played in the G (G League), all the games I played here in the NBA, I was trying to go 100% and work on my motor like that. So, now every time I’m out there, I just give everything I got and that’s the way I keep working on my motor.”
Niederhauser’s debut NBA campaign will end after 41 appearances. He averaged 4.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 10.3 minutes per game. Isaiah Jackson should continue to play an increased role with Niederhauser out.
An absolute heart breaker for this kid. He plays so hard and is loaded with talent. He will be a starter in the next couple years.