Wang Yi sprained his ankle without any contact. Baiyin thought it was his body sending him a message: it was time to rest.
Other stars had all taken games off this season.
But Wang Yi had played all 82 games, averaging around 35 minutes on the court each night.
And his usage rate had exceeded 45% in every game, which was astonishing.
A player's usage rate, also known as their possession usage rate, refers to the proportion of possessions they use while on the court.
Players with high usage rates were generally point guards.
Doncic and Morant, for example.
But even their usage rates this season were only 35% and 37%.
Wang Yi's had reached 45%. In other words, whenever he was on the court, nearly half of the team's possessions went through him.
That put an enormous strain on his body.
His physical fatigue had built up to a significant degree.
His body needed rest, so it was no surprise that he got injured.
Wang Yi had initially wanted to tough it out and play, or sit out the first three games. After those three games, a week would have passed.
At his rate of recovery, a week should have been enough.
But on the second day, he realized his ankle wasn't recovering as quickly as it usually did.
Only after asking the system did he learn that his excessive usage rate this season had put too much strain on both his feet.
For an ordinary player, with such a high usage rate and an average of 50 points per game, a sprained ankle wouldn't be the only problem. By the end of the season, they would probably have to retire.
The intensity of those games was simply more than a human body could withstand. Wang Yi had made