Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks had successful surgery on Wednesday to fix a broken right fibula and a dislocated ankle.
Hendricks got hurt in the third quarter of a 110-102 loss to Dallas on October 28th. While running down the court, he lost his balance and landed badly. The injury happened without any contact and away from the ball. Hendricks was then taken off the court on a stretcher.
Utah coach Will Hardy spoke about how hard it was for the team to watch. “A bunch of us were visibly rattled. It was really hard to see,” he said to reporters the day after the game.
“Everybody processes those things differently. Everybody needs to pick each other up at different moments.”
The second-year forward started in three games this season, averaging 4.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. Hendricks was drafted by Utah with the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He played 40 games as a rookie, starting 23 of them and averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Hendricks’ surgery was done at the University of Utah Orthopedic Center in Salt Lake City.