Blazers' Anfernee Simons tears UCL in thumb, out 4-6 weeks

Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons suffered an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear in his right thumb and will undergo injury.

An MRI exam revealed the tear after Simons injured the thumb in Wednesday's season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Simons will miss four to six weeks, according to the team.

Simons, 24, had 18 points and four assists in 27 minutes in the 123-111 defeat to the Clippers.

He had a breakout campaign last season, starting all 62 of his appearances and averaging career highs in scoring (21.1 points per game) and assists (4.1). He matched his careeer best rebounding average of 2.6 per game.

In 274 career games (98 starts), the 2018 first-round draft pick has averaged 12.7 points, 2.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds for his career.