Jazz center Udoka Azubuike underwent successful surgery on Friday to repair multiple ligaments in his right ankle and foot, the team announced. He’ll miss the rest of the 2021/22 season.
Azubuike appeared to suffer a dislocated ankle in a G League contest on March 10, his third right ankle injury in the past 13 months. He had a partially dislocated ankle back in November and a severe ankle sprain in February of 2021.
In 17 games this season, the second-year big man averaged 4.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per night while shooting 75.5% from the field. He appeared in just 15 games as a rookie last season, logging a total of 57 minutes.
After four seasons at Kansas, Azubuike was the 27th pick in the 2020 draft. Although his NBA run has been brief, the 22-year-old has shown flashes of upside — as Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune notes, Azubuike averaged 9.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks over a six-game stretch between February 2-14.
Since Azubuike was behind Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside on Utah’s depth chart, his absence won’t have much of an impact on the team’s playoff push, but obviously it’s a tough setback for the young center and hopefully he’s able to recover quickly.
At 45-28, the Jazz are currently the No. 4 seed in the West, but their hold on that spot is tenuous, as the Mavs have an identical record and the No. 6 Nuggets and No. 7 Timberwolves trail the Jazz by 2.5 and 3.5 games, respectively.
Kinda sounds like a chronic issue similar to what Zion. Both guys are just too big for their legs to handle. They both need to tone down their aggressive movements? There has to be ways to help them limit the extra wear on their bodies.
Speaking of injuries, is NAW injured? He was playing great and then 0 minutes for 3 straight games and 3 straight losses.
His style of play, and demeanor mostly, is what the Jazz have been missing with Bogey out. Bogey and NAW both play with no fear. Clarkson and Mitchell have no fear but are quite streaky at times, Clarkson more so.
Bogey, as we saw 2 years ago when he was out, is a stabilizing force in most games. He fills in those times when the rest of the team goes cold. Bogey loves a challenge and hates to lose. He gets super focused and goes on a tear. NAW has that same ability. Plus, his defense has been noticeably great! Give the man regular minutes already!
Let the tank begin…bye bye snider