The Golden State Warriors' veteran starting center Andrew Bogut was ruled out for the remainder of the NBA Finals after suffering a significant injury to his left knee during Monday's Game five.

The 31-year-old 7-foot big man suffered the unfortunate injury after a collision with Cleveland Cavaliers' J.R. Smith early in the third quarter of the Warriors' 112-97 Game five loss at Oracle Arena Monday night. Bogut's left knee seemed to buckle as Smith landed on it after driving to the basket.

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The Warrior's center had to be carried to the locker room.

Bogut, an Australian native, underwent an MRI on Tuesday and it was revealed that the impact resulted in bone bruises to the proximal tibia and distal femur. Fortunately, Bogut will not require major surgery, but it will take a minimum of 6-8 weeks for him to make a full recovery.

Bogut, the 2005 NBA draft first overall pick, is aspiring to become a triple Olympian. He has represented Australia at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, before ending a seven-year absence from the national team when he participated in last year's Olympic qualifiers against New Zealand.

The Aussie started the first five games of the series against Cleveland, and his absence can be considered a major blow to the defending champions' defensive front. He is averaging 3.2 points and 3 rebounds in limited playing time over the first five games.

His mere presence on the court typically gives the Warriors an advantage over the Cavs. In Game two, he recorded five big blocked shots and intensified Golden State's interior defense, making it harder for the Cavaliers to penetrate inside the shaded area.

"It's different with Boges out." Stephen Curry said. "We're going to have different rotations, especially in the starting lineup, so we've got to make adjustments."

The Warriors lead the series 3-2 with Game six to be played in Cleveland on Thursday night.

Tagsandrew bogut, cleveland cavaliers, JR Smith, Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry, Lebron James, 2016 nba finals