With Jamaican parents, it’s no surprise that Andre Drummond would have learned that avocados weren’t his friend.  He is apparently allergic to the fruit (yes, a fruit) and has probably gotten very good at avoiding them every chance he gets.  Unfortunately, things don’t always work out the way we want them to and the 26-year-old Detroit Pistons center found himself almost missing an important game after unsuspectingly meeting up with his archenemy.

The Andre Drummond Fruit Incident

The Pistons, as well as the Dallas Mavericks, went south of the border this week to help the NBA promote the league in Mexico.  While there, Drummond decided to try some local cuisine, as anyone would expect.  Despite reassurances over and over that his meal would be avocado-free, he was in for a surprise when his body suddenly rejected an avocado.  The reaction caused his eyes to swell, leaving him questionable for the night’s game as he spent a couple of days trying to recover.

The way Andre Drummond explains it, “I went to a restaurant and asked for some ceviche and I know people put avocadoes in ceviche. I asked the lady four times and my friend knows Spanish and I had him ask her too.  She said there wasn’t any avocado in there. I said, ‘Are you sure?’ before she brought out the food.  The food comes out and my plate is green. I asked my friend: ‘Ask her again if there’s avocado in there because my plate is green.’ I wasn’t trying to eat it if there’s avocado in there. She said no.”

Apparently, Mexican avocados are more hazardous to your health than avocados from other countries.  Andre Drummond adds, “I started devouring it and I get to almost the bottom of the plate and I see a big strip of avocado in there. Three or four minutes later, my throat starts to close, everything starts to itch, and my eyes start watering.  This is the worst it’s ever been. I’ve had avocado by accident a couple of times and the worst that’s happened is my throat starts itching.  This is the worst it’s ever been. I’ve never gone (a long time) without seeing.”

There have been a number of reasons why players have suddenly been forced to miss games, such as suddenly coming down with the flu or burning one’s corneas at a rock concert, but this avocado incident is a fresh one.  Andre Drummond spent a couple of days wearing sunglasses on the court during practice as he attempted to hide his swollen eyes.  Newshounds being what they are, they tried to capture every opportunity to see what he really looked like under the shades.

In six seasons, which equals 462 regular-season games, Drummond has only missed ten games.  Even a concussion last season only kept him out for less than a week.  He’s one of the strongest competitors in the league and is tough both on and off the court – unless he comes across an avocado.

Things could have obviously been much worse, but Drummond was able to make a recovery that at least allowed him to be in the game.  It would appear not even an avocado is enough to keep him down, and he finished the night with 23 points, three steals, a block and 15 rebounds.  Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough to lead the Pistons to a win, and they fell 122-111 to the Mavs.