Utah’s Taylor Hendricks will miss rest of the season due to fractured ankle

In this Monday’s game between Utah and Dallas, there was a moment during the contest that we all felt the need to look away from the television screens. During the third quarter, Taylor Hendricks suddenly broke his right ankle and had to be taken out of the match immediately, as both teammates and rivals showed support. 

It was later confirmed that he suffered a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle and is now expected to miss the remainder of this 2024-25 campaign. Nevertheless, his head coach later said that the athlete would later return with the team in Utah after further testing takes place this Tuesday.

“That’s hard to stomach,” Will Hardy said after their 110-102 loss to the Mavericks. “He’s put in a lot of hard work. He’s a great kid, and so we’re really just trying to focus on him, his health, keeping him up, his spirits up as he begins the road of his recovery. But these are the moments in sports that suck.”

Prayers up for Taylor Hendricks 🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/fnG8tePVdH

— Jazz Lead (@JazzLead) October 29, 2024

The 20-year-old simply collapsed without any contact with six full minutes remaining in the third quarter, as his lower right leg somehow turned to the outside. Almost immediately, the medical personnel rushed with a stretcher out to the court. Hendricks finally left the American Airles Center with a protective boot and crutches.

Once the game was over, the Jazz announced that they will provide updates on the 20-year-old’s status when they find it “appropriate.” For now, it will be a hard pill to swallow considering that the second-year player was becoming an important piece of Utah’s roster reconstruction.

The six-foot-nine forward, how was the No. 9 pick in last year’s NBA Draft, had been proving himself as a strong defender, which had been giving rival Luka Doncic a hard time all night this Monday. Before falling to injury, he had scored two points, earned three rebounds and handed out two assists in 21 minutes of play.

“Super unfortunate,” said Jazz teammate Lauri Markkanen. “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.”

Jazz coach and teammates guarantee that nothing is over for Hendricks, who was proving his worth as a starter only in his second campaign as a professional

Taylor was making his third-straight start of the season, after being chosen to be a part of the starting lineup during 23 games of his 40 appearances during his rookie year. This is why his teammates are so shaken over his injury, because he had been showing promise since he started out in the NBA.

“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,” Markkanen insisted on the importance of showing Hendricks support during the recovery process.

The 20-year-old showed promise in his rookie year when he averaged 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds and moved into the starting lineup more constantly this sophomore season. It was clear that he had worked all summer and returned to training camp significantly stronger.

“This is far from over for him,” Hardy assured. “This is a pause button for Taylor. You can see [his work paying off] even in the early parts of this season. You can see the flashes, you can see where this could be going with him, and that’s a credit to him.”