Young Minnesota Timberwolves star Zach LaVine will miss the rest of the NBA season after tearing a left knee ligament, the team said on Saturday.

LaVine was hurt in Friday's 116-108 loss at Detroit, in which he scored 20 points but departed after less than a minute of the fourth quarter after suffering what was first described as a knee contusion.

In a posting on the Timberwolves' website, the team said an MRI exam had revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament that would require surgery at a date still to be determined.

The injury brings LaVine's third NBA season to a premature close.

He was averaging 18.9 points and 37.2 minutes (third highest in the league) in 47 games.

The 21-year-old (pictured) won the past two editions of the All-Star weekend Slam Dunk contest, but said this month he wouldn't go for an unprecedented three-peat in the exhibition.

LaVine was shooting 38.7 percent from three-point range and has worked harder to become a better defender under new coach Tom Thibodeau. And after winning the last two dunk titles, LaVine recently decided not to go for a third straight win this year, a decision Thibodeau said proved the flashy youngster had the bigger picture in mind.

"He's done a lot more than just be a dunker: his shooting, his playmaking, all that stuff," Thibodeau said in January. "But the big thing is weighing whether the rest is more important to be ready for the second half of the season. So, I don't want him putting a lot of time and thought into that. I want him thinking about what we have to do tonight. Prioritizing winning and our team is the most important thing."

After the Wolves started the season a disappointing 6-18, they had shown signs of putting things together. Improved defense and more consistent ball movement helped them go 13-11 before losses this week to Cleveland and Detroit. They had climbed to just 2 1/2 games back of the eighth seed in the West before those two losses, and LaVine was just starting to pull himself out of a shooting funk that had set in since he missed two games with a hip injury.

AFP