Lauri Markkanen Injured In Practice, Will Undergo MRI

Lauri Markkanen suffered an injury in practice on Wednesday, according to Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune, who hears that the Jazz forward will have his right ankle and right hip evaluated.

Markkanen will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his injury and to ascertain whether he’ll have to miss time, Reynolds adds. It’s unclear whether the forward is undergoing imaging on his ankle, his hip, or both.

Markkanen, 28, has performed at a near-All-Star level this season when healthy, averaging 26.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 34.4 minutes per game across 42 outings (all starts). However, after appearing in Utah’s first 22 games, he has played in just 20 of the past 36 contests, missing time here and there due to minor ailments, including a seven-game absence in January as a result of an illness.

The Jazz, who have already ruled out both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic for the season for health reasons, have little incentive to win down the stretch, since they want to make sure they retain their top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick. With that in mind, it would be a surprise if Markkanen doesn’t miss at least a little time due to these ankle and hip issues even if they’re not significant.

Still, the NBA – having already hit the franchise with a $500K fine for how it was managing Markkanen and other players – will likely be keeping a close eye on the Jazz’s handling of their star forward during the final month-and-a-half of the season, so the club would presumably face some scrutiny if it rules him out for the rest of the second half for an injury that turns out to be minor.

Utah’s next two games are at home vs. New Orleans on Thursday and Saturday. After that, the Jazz will host the Nuggets on Monday before heading out on a three-game road trip to Philadelphia, Washington, and Milwaukee.