Hawks’ Larry Nance Jr. To Undergo Surgery On Right Hand

Atlanta Hawks forward Larry Nance Jr. will undergo surgery for a broken bone in his right hand. The Hawks announced that imaging confirmed a fractured fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand, and a timeline for Nance’s return won’t be known until after the procedure.

Atlanta Hawks’ Larry Nance Jr. fractured the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand against the Miami Heat

Nance, who turns 32 on Jan. 1, suffered the injury during Saturday’s 120-110 victory over the Miami Heat. The 10-year veteran has been a valuable contributor off the bench for Atlanta after being acquired during the summer in the Dejounte Murray trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.

In 15 games (two starts) with the Hawks this campaign, Nance has averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and 19.4 minutes per contest while shooting 58.5% from the floor and career bests of 52% from 3-point range and 87.5% at the free throw line.

An @emoryhealthcare injury report:

Larry Nance Jr. sustained a right hand injury during Saturday’s game vs. Miami at State Farm Arena. Imaging has confirmed a fractured fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand. He will undergo surgery on Thursday, Jan. 2 to repair the fracture.… pic.twitter.com/sLdzjzAszo

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 30, 2024

Through 537 career NBA regular-season games (136 starts), he has averaged 7.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 23.1 minutes per contest while shooting 54.2% from the field, 35.5% from beyond the arc, and 69.8% at the foul line.

In addition to Nance’s injury, backup center Onyeka Okongwu just recently returned from his five-game absence due to left knee inflammation. He scored 15 points off the bench in Sunday’s 136-107 win against the Toronto Raptors.

Nance wants more playing time in Atlanta’s rotation

Although Nance has yet to ask for a trade, he is still wanting more minutes in the Hawks’ rotation. The Wyoming product played a season-high 31 minutes at San Antonio on Dec. 19, but that was also Okongwu’s first missed game since Nov. 3.

“Larry Nance Jr. has had to get used to a new role this season because for the first time in his career, he hasn’t been a rotation player,” FanDuel TV’s Tabitha Turner-Wilkins said during the second quarter of the Hawks’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 21.

“Larry told me that it’s definitely been difficult. It has not been easy, and he’d be lying if he said it was easy. But it’s also giving him a chance to get better at certain parts of his game.

“Improving from beyond the arc was something that he wanted to be better about this offseason… It’s a part of his game that he wasn’t as good at. He said that he’s gonna get a run in the rotation with Onyeka being out these next few games. His only hope is to make the decision for Quin Snyder as difficult as possible once Onyeka returns.”

The Hawks also announced that second-year guard Kobe Bufkin will undergo season-ending surgery to address “instability” in his right shoulder. The procedure is scheduled for Jan. 7.

Bufkin, 21, partially dislocated his right shoulder for the second time in October. He had missed summer league because of a similar injury. His rookie season was interrupted by injuries, including a thumb fracture and a big toe sprain that kept him out of all but 17 games.