DENVER (Ticker) - Denver Nuggets guard Voshon Lenard, the defending champion of the Shootout at All-Star Weekend, will miss at least six months after undergoing successful surgery Monday to repair his torn left Achilles tendon.
Lenard suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Tuesday's season-opening 89-78 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. After missing a 3-pointer with just under five minutes left, Lenard slipped while running back on defense and had to be helped off the court by teammates.
A 6-4 sharpshooter from the University of Minnesota, Lenard was beginning the second year of his second stint with Denver, which signed him as a free agent prior to last season.
Lenard averaged 14.1 points per game as a starter last season while leading the Nuggets with 106 3-pointers. He also dethroned two-time champion Peja Stojakovic of the Sacramento Kings at All-Star Weekend.
Dermarr Johnson, who was the sixth overall pick in 2000, was initially tabbed to replace Lenard in the starting lineup but he managed just two points in 15 minutes against Minnesota on Thursday. Greg Buckner got the start two days later against Utah and produced four points in 17 minutes.
In 537 career games with the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors and Denver, Lenard has averaged 12.2 points while making 909 3-pointers.