Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague revealed Thursday in a now-deleted Instagram post that he played the entire 2015-16 season with a torn patellar tendon in his knee and "could barely jump or stop."
A source described the nature of Teague's injury to ESPN as a partial tear. Teague has also said previously that injuries to his ankles and knees hampered him this season.
He did not require surgery following an MRI taken after the season and is currently resting, but he should be back on the court soon, a source said.
"He is kind of, for lack of a better word, managing his knee," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said at the team's postseason news conference after the Hawks were eliminated from the playoffs.. "I don't know if it is knees and ankles. I would say it is hard to know what he shares and what he doesn't. I think he was relatively healthy and he was good so many nights and he is such a good player. I do think he was managing it a little bit like a lot of NBA guys do."
Teague, 27, appeared in 79 regular-season games in 2015-16, averaging 15.7 points and 5.9 assists while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. But in 10 playoff games, he shot just 38 percent from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range while averaging 14.5 points and 6.1 assists.
Asked what he wants to work on after the Hawks were eliminated from the playoffs, Teague said: "Just getting healthy."
He is entering the final year of his contract, worth $8 million, in 2016-17.
ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.
