The Utah Jazz have released their injury report for the first leg of a two-game road trip in New York, starting with a meeting against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
And for the Jazz, there’s a chance they could be without their entire center rotation, depending on how Jusuf Nurkic’s status trends leading up to tip-off.
Here’s the full injury landscape for the Jazz before facing the Nets:
Utah Jazz Injury ReportQUESTIONABLE – Jusuf Nurkic (right rib; contusion)
OUT – G Elijah Harkless (two-way, G League)
OUT – C Walker Kessler (left shoulder; injury recovery)
OUT – F Kevin Love (rest)
OUT – F Georges Niang (left foot; fourth metatarsal stress reaction)
OUT- F John Tonje (two-way, G League)
The newest addition to the Jazz’s IR is starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who’s been deemed to have a right rib contusion heading into the night against Brooklyn, and could have a chance to miss the first game of his 2025-26 campaign, depending on how his status shifts.
Nurkic, who’s been Utah’s starting big man since Walker Kessler went down with his season-ending shoulder injury earlier in the year. He’s played in all 20 games to average 8.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting 45.9% from the field and 23.3% from three.
Nov 28, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) looks to shoot the ball past Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images | Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images
Along with Nurkic, the Jazz will also have their backup veteran center, Kevin Love, resting for the first of a back-to-back, and will be set to return against the New York Knicks the day following their matchup vs. Brooklyn. For now, though, he’ll be a healthy scratch.
That leaves an opportunity for two-way big man Oscar Tshiebwe to take on his first NBA minutes of this season, who’s not listed on the Jazz’s injury report like John Tonje or Elijah Harkless.
Tshiebwe played 14 games for the Jazz last season to average 7.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and nearly one steal per game in 18 minutes a night for those appearances. It wouldn’t be a surprise for the third-yeae big to make his season debut on the road against Brooklyn, especially if Nurkic has any chance of being unavailable for game time.
And Georges Niang, the Jazz’s trade addition from earlier this summer, still awaits a shot to make his respective season debut, who has been forced to the side since Utah’s training camp with his offseason foot injury.
The Jazz and Nets will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. MT in Barclays Center for their first of two matchups this season, and a game that, for Utah, could mark a second-straight win after the events of their previous victory vs. the Houston Rockets.
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