Meeting the Pistons doctor who ruled out Donatas Motiejunas' basketball future / News - Basketnews.com

Eight years ago, a Detroit Pistons doctor looked Donatas Motiejunas in the eye and told him he wouldn't be able to play basketball again. Today, Motiejunas holds the record for the longest active streak of consecutive EuroLeague games played.

Credit: Stefanos Kyriazis/ZUMA Press Wire Credit Stefanos Kyriazis/ZUMA Press Wire

"Your back hasn't fully healed yet. You won't be able to play basketball again," said the Detroit Pistons doctor, shaking Donatas Motiejunas' world.

Freshly traded from the Houston Rockets to the Detroit Pistons in February 2016, Motiejunas was eager to start this new chapter with his new NBA team. The Pistons had acquired him intending to secure D-Mo on a solid multi-year contract, pending approval from their medical staff.

Despite a history of back troubles, the Rockets' medical team gave Motiejunas the green light just weeks before the trade. His strength was returning, and he felt ready.

Everything seemed aligned for his future in Detroit. However, those fateful words from the Pistons' doctor changed everything.

Detroit requested an extra 24 hours and ultimately decided to void the trade.

"When you hear such news, you instantly start checking your finances and your savings," Motiejunas, then 25 years old, revealed to BasketNews.

In his first four years with the Rockets, he had earned $6.6 million before taxes on a rookie-scale contract.

Despite struggling to believe the Pistons doctor's diagnosis, Motiejunas couldn't shake off the impact of his words. This was compounded by a previous dispute with the Houston Rockets, who had voided a lucrative four-year, $37 million contract following a medical examination.

"To be honest, that's why I eventually chose to bypass NBA minimum contracts and head to China. There was substantial money on the table. When the NBA doctor suggested I was on the verge of breaking down, it really made me question how much longer I could continue playing basketball. He's a doctor, after all. It seems like he understands what he's talking about," reflected Motiejunas.

Credit AP – Scanpix

Fast-forward eight years, and Motiejunas had entered the EuroLeague playoffs, boasting the longest active streak in the league, having played in 123 consecutive games (per Darius Garuolis' data).

In the playoff series against Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul, the AS Monaco center marked his 124th consecutive EuroLeague game with a strong performance. He scored 8 points in the first quarter and helpedhis team secure an early lead, 21-8.

What would Motiejunas say to that Pistons' doctor now, having not missed the game for three straight seasons in the second-best basketball league in the world at the age of 33?

"I've spent a lot of time working with a psychologist,

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