The Minnesota Timberwolves have potentially suffered a devastating blow in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. With the Timberwolves leading 5-0 in the opening minutes at Target Center, guard Donte DiVincenzo went down with a non-contact right leg injury as he looked to chase down his own miss.
DiVincenzo immediately signaled for Timberwolves staffers to check on him and appeared to be in considerable pain. The 29-year-old’s teammates were also greatly concerned as they surrounded him, and he might have potentially torn his Achilles tendon.
Donte DiVincenzo went to the locker room after an apparent leg injury. pic.twitter.com/D234woGEvD
— ESPN (@espn) April 26, 2026
DiVincenzo, who had one assist on the night, was able to walk back to the locker room on his own power, but the Timberwolves have ruled him out for the rest of the game with a right lower leg injury. While you’d hope this isn’t the worst-case scenario, Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT, stated on X that he fears the guard has indeed torn his Achilles.
“Unfortunately, this looks like classic mechanism for a Achilles rupture for Donte DiVincenzo.”
Jeffries wasn’t the only one of this opinion. Brian Sutterer, MD, doesn’t believe DiVincenzo walking to the locker room is any source of optimisim and pointed to this being the classic mechanism as well on X.
“Yea, looks like an Achilles for Donte :/ Doesn’t really mean much that he could walk off. Classic mechanism, pop, etc.”
This would be gutting. DiVincenzo had been an iron man for the Timberwolves, playing all 82 regular-season games. He had been great in the first three games of this series against the Nuggets, too, averaging 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 51.6% from the field.
DiVincenzo’s play had helped the Timberwolves take a 2-1 lead. His absence makes the task of building to that advantage all the more difficult.
Update:
ESPN’s Shams Charania has now confirmed that DiVincenzo has been diagnosed with a torn right Achilles tendon. He’s probably going to miss the entire 2026-27 season. We have seen Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum making a stunning recovery from an Achilles tear, and here’s hoping DiVincenzo does as well.
