Inside The Jazz

Utah Jazz Issue Huge Taylor Hendricks Injury Update

Some big injury news for the Utah Jazz forward.
Oct 15, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) reacts to a play against the Sacramento Kings during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Oct 15, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) reacts to a play against the Sacramento Kings during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

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The Utah Jazz just dropped a big injury update surrounding their top-10 pick from a couple of summers ago, Taylor Hendricks.

According to Jazz president Austin Ainge, Hendricks will be a "full-go" for training camp after his season-ending leg injury from last season. His recovery process went as planned, and he's "healthy" for the year ahead.

A notable step in the right direction for Hendricks, who missed all but three games last season after suffering from a fractured right fibula and broken ankle against the Dallas Mavericks, and thus led him down a months-long road of recovery, essentially taking him off an NBA floor for an entire calendar year.

But now, after a successful recovery process, the Jazz feel confident that their 2023 lottery pick is good to go with camp and preseason right around the corner.

Ainge later broke down Hendricks' recovery a bit more during his media day presser, noting he's had "no restrictions" throughout this summer, and worked super hard to get to the point where he's at.

"Taylor has had no setbacks in his rehab," Ainge said. "It's gone great. He worked his tail off... He's been playing full court with no restrictions with our guys. I'm sure there will be some timing and some things getting back into the NBA game, but physically he looks great, and he's ready to go."

During his 43 career games in the league across years one and two, Hendricks has averaged 7.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and just under a block and a steal a game, shooting 43.4% from the field.

Oct 10, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA;  Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives to the basket as Utah Jazz forward Taylor
Oct 10, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives to the basket as Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) defends during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

This season, he'll fill in as one of the more intriguing players in the mix of the Jazz's youth movement, and among the most important pieces of their defensive success after finishing as one of the worst units in the league on that end of the ball for the second year in a row.

Of course, as with many players in his position, it could take time for Hendricks to re-acclimate to the NBA game and pace after such a long time off, but physically, he's got the green light from the Jazz and their staff.

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Jared Koch
JARED KOCH

Jared Koch is the deputy editor of Utah Jazz On SI. He's covered the NBA and NFL for the past two years, contributing to Denver Broncos On SI, Indianapolis Colts On SI, and Sacramento Kings On SI. He has covered multiple NBA and NFL events on site, and his works have also appeared on Bleacher Report, MSN, and Yahoo.

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