Jazz Announce Lauri Markkanen's Injury Status for Lakers Game

The Utah Jazz have been playing surprisingly well recently, winning two straight games and five of their last eight to improve to 10-15 on the season. Now, though, they are heading into a matchup with the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers, and to make matters worse, the Jazz will be without their star forward.

After initially being listed as questionable for Thursday's matchup with the Lakers, the Jazz have downgraded Lauri Markkanen to out, officially sidelining him for the huge game. Markkanen is dealing with a right groin injury, as the Jazz will now be missing both of their starting big men.

Jazz Injury Report:

*OUT - Lauri Markkanen (right groin; injury management)

OUT - Elijah Harkless (G League)

OUT - Walker Kessler (left shoulder; injury recovery)

OUT - Georges Niang (left foot; fourth metatarsal stress reaction)

OUT - John Tonje (G League)

OUT - Oscar…
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 18, 2025

Jazz rule out Markkanen vs. Lakers

Playing without starting center Walker Kessler is already enough of a loss for the Jazz, and now missing their All-Star-caliber forward will certainly not help their chances against the Lakers on Thursday.

This season, Markkanen is averaging 27.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game with 46.9/35.2/89.3 shooting splits. The Finnish forward has put together the best season of his nine-year NBA career and is the main reason for the Jazz's surprisingly impressive play.

Lauri Markkanen played like an All-NBA player last night

33 PTS
16 REB
5 AST
4 STL
1 BLK
11/23 FG

If he keeps playing like this and the Jazz are winning, he should be in the All-Star game pic.twitter.com/Q6DEMhfXFS
— Jazz Lead (@JazzLead) December 16, 2025

This will be just the second game this season that Markkanen will miss, and the Jazz could be in trouble without him. In his lone absence, the Jazz suffered a 31-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Of course, there is no telling that the outcome would have been much different with Markkanen available, but it is certainly not a great indicator of what is to come in Thursday's game against Los Angeles.

The Jazz and Lakers have already met once this season, as Los Angeles picked up a 14-point win in Crypto.com Arena. In that game, Markkanen led the Jazz with 31 points, which was one of ten instances this season where the star forward has dropped 30+ points. In fact, the Jazz are a positive 8-6 this season when Markkanen scores more than 25 points, showing how valuable his impact is in Utah.

Without Markkanen, it is hard to say the Jazz will have a chance against Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and the rest of the Lakers squad, but it will give his supporting cast a chance to shine in his absence.

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