Duke star Zion Williamson left the Blue Devils’ rivalry matchup against North Carolina on Wednesday night just 36 seconds into the game.  The 18-year-old freshman went down with a knee injury and was unable to return after one of his shoes exploded.

Williamson was dribbling the ball and went to make a move.  When his left foot planted and he attempted to change direction, the shoe gave out and his foot went through the shoe.

The loss of Williamson was too much for Duke to overcome and they lost the game 88-72.  After the game Coach K addressed the injury and called it a mild knee sprain.

Nike also issued a statement following Williamson’s injury.  He was wearing the Nike PG 2.5, the signature shoe of the Thunder’s Paul George, via ESPN:

Duke has had an exclusive deal with Nike since 1992.  It might be time to revise the terms of the deal.  

You can’t have the best player in the country going doing because of a knee injury caused by a Nike shoe.

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