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Pacers' LeVert undergoes cancer surgery, expected to fully recover

Nathaniel S. Butler / National Basketball Association / Getty

Indiana Pacers swingman Caris LeVert underwent surgery Monday to treat renal cell carcinoma of his left kidney, the team announced.

No further treatment is needed, according to the team. LeVert, 26, is expected to make a full recovery and will be out indefinitely.

An MRI detected a mass on LeVert's kidney following his Jan. 13 trade to the Pacers from the Brooklyn Nets in the wider James Harden-Victor Oladipo deal. He's since been listed as out indefinitely.

Renal cell carcinoma has a high survival rate when the illness is caught early. LeVert said last week that the trade was therefore a blessing.

"I didn't have any symptoms. ... I was playing in games; I hadn't missed any games this season yet and I was pretty much 100% healthy," LeVert said. "In a way, this trade showed and revealed what was going on in my body, so I'm definitely looking at it from that side. I'm definitely humbled to know that this trade could have possibly saved me in the long run."

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