Pelicans’ CJ McCollum suffers collapse in right lung

The New Orleans Pelicans have confirmed that CJ McCollum, the team’s guard, is currently dealing with a small pneumothorax in his right lung following an imaging procedure conducted on Sunday morning.

A pneumothorax, as defined by the Mayo Clinic, is “when air enters the space between the lung and chest wall, exerting pressure on the lung and causing it to collapse. This can be a partial or complete collapse of the lung.”

This is the second instance of McCollum encountering a pneumothorax in his career. The Portland Trail Blazers diagnosed him with one in December 2021. The team initially stated that he made a complete recovery 2½ weeks after the diagnosis, but he didn’t return to competitive play until three weeks later.

During that season, McCollum missed a total of 18 games. He eventually made a comeback on Jan. 17, 2022, only to be traded to the New Orleans Pelicans three weeks later.

The Pelicans have shared that McCollum is set to undergo further examination within the next 48 hours to assess the healing process, with another update to come thereafter.

In the ongoing season, McCollum has played six games and is averaging 21.7 points, 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals for the Pelicans, who have started with a 4-2 record.

New Orleans has already faced its fair share of absences early on this season, with Trey Murphy (left meniscus), Jose Alvarado (right ankle sprain), and Naji Marshall (right knee contusion) yet to step on the court.

Brandon Ingram also sat out for three games due to right knee tendinitis but made his return against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.