LeVert kidney cancer surgery successful–Pacers

FILE PHOTO: Former Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert (22) at Barclays Center on Jan 7, 2021. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana Pacers guard Caris LeVert is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing successful surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his left kidney, his team said on Tuesday.

LeVert was stunned shortly after his move from Brooklyn to Indiana earlier this month when a routine medical exam revealed the mass on his kidney.

The Pacers said Tuesday that LeVert had gone under the knife in a procedure on Monday to treat renal cell carcinoma at a hospital in Indianapolis.

“No further treatment is needed,” the Pacers said. “Caris is expected to make a full recovery and will be out indefinitely. Further updates will be provided as needed.”

The 26-year-old had shown no sign of ill-health before his arrival at the Pacers, and said he had been shocked by the discovery of the cancer.

LeVert joined the Pacers from the Brooklyn Nets as part of the complicated trade deal that took James Harden from the Houston Rockets to Brooklyn.

LeVert has averaged 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game so far in his fifth NBA campaign, all with the Nets, who signed him in 2016.