Ace Bailey Headlines Utah Jazz Injury Report vs. OKC Thunder

The Utah Jazz and OKC Thunder have some notable injuries of note before their regular season action.

Dec 20, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) warms up before the game against the Orlando Magic at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Utah Jazz and OKC Thunder have officially revealed their injury report ahead of their third meeting this season, where both sides will have a handful of notable names up in the air ot already sidelined for the action.

Here's the full injury report landscape for both the Thunder and Jazz heading into the night:

Utah Jazz Injury Report

QUESTIONABLE - F Ace Bailey (left hip flexor; strain)
OUT - G Elijah Harkless (G League)
OUT - C Walker Kessler (left shoulder; injury recovery)
OUT - C Kevin Love (rest)
OUT - F Georges Niang (left foot; fourth metatarsal stress reaction)
OUT - F John Tonje (G League)

It's one starter with their status in question for the Jazz, that being their fifth-overall pick Ace Bailey, who's questionable due to his lingering hip injury.

Bailey has been out of the mix for the Jazz for the past five games since suffering a hip flexor strain against the Detroit Pistons, thus putting his rookie campaign on pause to start the 2026 calendar year. However, there's a chance he's back in the fold against the Thunder, with his status likely becoming a bit clearer once tip-off nears.

During the first 30 games of his career in Utah, Bailey is averaging 10.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 43.7% from the field and 35.7% from three, starting in 21 of those contests for about 23 minutes a game.

Dec 23, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Ace Bailey (19) reacts to a call during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

If he's not good to go against the Thunder, expect the Jazz to continue to roll with third-year Brice Sensabaugh in his place, who's been in Utah's starting five for the last five games of the season.

The Jazz have also ruled out Kevin Love due to rest for the action on the road in Oklahoma City. Love has rested in four of Utah's past five games on the season, and now leaves Will Hardy to pivot a bit in his frontcourt rotation. Expect Kyle Filipowski to continue to get an expanded role in the second unit, or further playing time for Taylor Hendricks.

The good news for the Jazz, though, is that three of their recently inactive starters— Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Jusuf Nurkic— all have no designations before getting things rolling against the reigning champs, and could give them a better chance of dethroning them after coming up short in their prior two meetings this regular season.

OKC Thunder Injury Report

OUT - C Isaiah Hartenstein (soleus strain)
OUT - G Alex Caruso (back soreness)
OUT - C Jaylin Williams (heel bursitis)
OUT - F Ousmane Dieng (calf strain)
OUT - G Nikola Topic (testicular surgery)
OUT - C Thomas Sorber (torn ACL)

As for the Thunder, they'll be down two crucial pieces of their rotation, one being their starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, and another being their lockdown defender Alex Caruso, sidelined with a back injury.

They'll still have their top three guys in tact with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, but their depth will see a few missing pieces as well– including big man Jaylin Williams and wing Ousmane Dieng.

The Jazz and Thunder will tip-off at 6 p.m. MT at Paycom Center, where Utah will try to climb out of the hole that is their recent four-game win streak, but it certainly won't be an easy task.

e sure to bookmark Utah Jazz On SI and follow @JazzOnSI on X to stay up-to-date on daily Utah Jazz news, interviews, breakdowns and more!

• One Team Still Interested in Acquiring Utah Jazz C Walker Kessler
• Kevin Love Explains What Sets Utah Jazz Apart From Other Teams
• Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen Slips in Latest NBA All-Star Voting
• Will Hardy Calls Out Utah Jazz for Recent Defensive Lapses
• Utah Jazz Two-Way Signee Wins G League Player of the Month