Report: MRI Clean for Donovan Mitchell, Expected to Miss Several Games
(Photo of Donovan Mitchell: Ron Chenoy - USA TODAY Sports)
SALT LAKE CITY - After suffering a right ankle sprain in Friday's 119-111 win vs. the Indiana Pacers, former Louisville standout and current Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell appears to avoided a major injury.
An MRI on the injury taken after the game "revealed no structural damage", according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. He adds that Mitchell is "expected to miss several games" before being cleared to return. The Jazz announced that he will be reevaluated in one week.
Trailing 74-65 with roughly eight and half minutes left in the third quarter, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound guard jumped in an attempt to deflect a pass from Edmond Sumner on the fastbreak, and came down awkwardly on his right leg.
A visible sprain was shown on the broadcast, and he had to be helped off the court by a pair of Jazz teammates. He was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Prior to the injury, the Greenwich, Conn. native was averaging 26.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 38.5% on three-point attempts - all of which are good for career-highs. He is in the midst of his second-consecutive All-Star season, and has led the Jazz to an NBA-best 42-14 record.
Mitchell has quickly ascended to superstardom over the last couple seasons, and continues to add milestones to his young NBA career. He became the fastest player to hit 600 career three-pointers earlier this season, and became the third-fastest active NBA player to score 5,000 career points last season, trailing only LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
He was drafted with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Nuggets, only to be traded to the Jazz on draft night. As a sophomore at Louisville, Mitchell averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists en route to being named a 2016-17 First Team All-ACC selection.
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