Former Gonzaga star to miss rest of NBA season after knee surgery

Jalen Suggs was averaging career-high in points, rebounds and assists in his fourth season with the Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) is fouled by Detroit Pistons guard Marcus Sasser (25) during the second half at Kia Center | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Jalen Suggs will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA season after undergoing surgery on his left knee, according to the Orlando Magic.

The former Gonzaga men's basketball standout went through arthroscopic surgery to remove a cartilage fragment in his left knee and to repair the trochlear joint surface. The Magic expect Suggs to make a full recovery. He had previously been ruled out indefinitely by the team on Sunday.

Suggs, now in his fourth season as a pro, helped guide the Magic through some uncertain waters earlier this season when Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner were both sidelined due to oblique injuries. Now with Banchero and Wagner back in the lineup, Orlando (29-34) will have to navigate the final 17 games of the regular season and likely the play-in tournament without its best perimeter defender in the backcourt.

Suggs played just one game since he experienced back spasms against the Toronto Raptors. Some discomfort in his knee during the lead-up to his return prompted more testing, which led to the conclusion that the 6-foot-5 guard required surgery.

Suggs was in the middle of a career season before it was derailed in early January. Across 35 games, the 23-year-old averaged a career-high 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals. Suggs also knocked down a career-best 88.2% of his free-throw attempts, which ranked No. 15 in the NBA.

Suggs has been forced to bounce back from a number of lingering injuries throughout his young NBA career. He played 48 games as a rookie while missing time due to ankle problems; more lower body injuries limited him to 53 games his second season. Suggs broke out as one of the best on-ball defenders at the guard position while playing 75 games last season, when he finished on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team and earned votes for the defensive player of the year award.

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