The Utah Jazz are going to be without another top player for a while
All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen is out for at least two weeks after an MRI showed hip impingement with associated inflammation and bone bruise, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The injury was suffered during practice Wednesday.
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Markkanen also had tests on a twisted ankle come back clean.
Utah is already without a trio of big men due to season-ending injuries to Jusuf Nurkić, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler. Losing Markkanen, who is averaging a career-high 26.7 points per game, for any amount of time would be a significant blow.
Of course, the Jazz are hardly sweating this season with an 18-40 record. The team is one of many in the NBA seen as tanking, to the point that the NBA made an example of the Jazz earlier this month with a $500,000 fine for what NBA commissioner Adam Silver described as “overt” tanking behavior.
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While The Athletic’s Tony Jones initially reported Wednesday that the NBA was sending independent doctors to Utah to verify the results of Markkanen’s MRI, he walked back that report Thursday. Jones clarified that the NBA was reviewing Markkanen’s medicals, which is standard practice, but are not sending doctors to Utah to take a closer look at things. Jones apologized for the error.
The Jazz currently have the sixth-worst record in the NBA, behind the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans. Pretty much all of the above teams save the Pelicans (whose 2026 first-rounder is going to the Atlanta Hawks) have good reason to punt on the rest of this season with one of the best draft classes in NBA history arriving this summer.