Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks is expected to miss the rest of the season after he went down with a gruesome non-contact leg injury in a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
As Hendricks was jogging near the baseline at American Airlines Center in Dallas, he suddenly collapsed to the court after his right leg gave out. Hendricks’ right leg appeared to simply snap near his ankle, and his foot dangled the completely wrong way as play was quickly stopped and training staff rushed over.
A stretcher was immediately brought out for him, and players from both teams were clearly shaken up by the incident.
The video can be seen here, but the injury is extremely graphic.
The Jazz ruled him out minutes later with a right ankle injury. The team then confirmed that Hendricks suffered a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle. He will return to Utah with the team and undergo further testing on Tuesday. He’s expected to miss the rest of the season.
“He’s a great kid, and so we’re really just trying to focus on him, his health, keeping his spirits up as he begins the road of his recovery,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said, via the Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen.
“But these are the moments in sports that suck.”
The Jazz selected Hendricks with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of UCF. He averaged 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 40 games as a rookie last season. He had 12 points and five rebounds in their season opener last week.
“Super unfortunate,” Jazz star Lauri Markkanen said, via ESPN. “We’re all here for him. It sucks that we lost, but he’s more important than that. We know how hard he worked the whole summer to be ready for this opportunity, so it sure feels tough for him. We’re going to stay here for him and support him.
“We talk about fighting through adversity, whatever it is. Tonight it happened to be that. Nobody can do it alone, so it’s staying together and trying to work through it and not giving up.”
The Mavericks led nearly the entire way on Monday night and picked up a 110-102 win over the Jazz. Kyrie Irving led the way with 23 points, and Klay Thompson added 18 points and four rebounds. Collin Sexton led the Jazz with 23 points after shooting 9-of-11 from the field. The Jazz are now 0-3 on the season. They’ll host the Sacramento Kings next on Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
