LAS VEGAS — The biggest fear for NBA teams during the Summer League is the threat of a rookie injury. That fear came true for the Utah Jazz on Wednesday when Keyonte George twisted his ankle just before halftime in the Jazz’s fight against the Denver Nuggets.
Now the Jazz are waiting with bated breath to know the severity of the injury, which is believed to be a sprained ankle. To make matters worse, George sprained the same ankle at Baylor in February.
A large jazz troupe seated on the sidelines, including general manager Justin Zanik, head coach Will Hardy and a number of front office and coaching staff members, were mostly cheerful and smiling by early evening. But in the second half, the mood changed rapidly.
“This absolutely sucks,” said Evan Bradds, head coach of the Jazz Summer League. “It’s a slap in the face for us, but the absolute biggest slap for him, especially considering how well he played.” It sucks, it sucks. Anytime you see someone go down, it sucks, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.”
Jazz medical staff examined George after the game and will continue to do so in the coming days.
George suffered the injury with less than a minute remaining in the first half when he stepped on Julian Strawther’s foot as he headed for the basket. George immediately fell to the ground and grabbed the ankle. He tried to get up and leave the field on his own, but needed the help of teammates and coaches.
But when the buzzer sounded at halftime, George was able to carefully walk to the dressing room alone with his teammates.
The Jazz were particularly wary of their freshmen, holding No. 9 picks Taylor Hendricks (right hamstring) and No. 28 picks Brice Sensabaugh (after left knee surgery) from the Summer League game.
Sensabaugh and Hendricks have both increased their workloads and participated in on-court work with the team in Las Vegas, but neither has had full training and the Jazz don’t want to rush things and would prefer not to rush players into a game, without having completed a full training session.
George’s injury comes after back-to-back impressive performances in Las Vegas, in which he totaled 59 points in the Jazz’s first two games at the NBA’s annual Summer Showcase. After making his way to the bench on Wednesday following his injury, George stared at the ground and shook his head in disappointment.
This summer league saw a string of injuries on high first-round picks. No. 3 overall Scoot Henderson injured his shoulder in the Portland Trail Blazers’ first game in Las Vegas and No. 4 overall Amen Thompson suffered an ankle injury in the Houston Rockets’ debut.
George, the 16th pick in the June 22 NBA draft, has shown he is an important part of the future of the Jazz and will likely be competing for a point guard position with the Jazz early in the 2023-24 season.
Despite concerns about his ability to pass the ball effectively and shoot consistently, throughout his play in both the Salt Lake City Summer League and Las Vegas Summer League he has shown that he has the raw talent and tools for those who are looking for jazz.
The Jazz ruled out George for the remainder of Wednesday’s game and league sources said George would not play in any of the Jazz’s remaining Summer League games.