Jazz's Keyonte George Reacts to Vince Williams' Devastating Injury

The Utah Jazz saw another piece of their rotation go down with an injury against the Houston Rockets, starting off the week as Vince Williams Jr. would end up forced out in the middle of the game with a scary-looking knee injury.

In the second quarter, Williams suffered the injury on a fastbreak collision with Tari Eason off the ball that led to his knee bending awkwardly, and would eventually be helped off the floor by trainers into the visiting Houston locker room.

According to a recent report from Shams Charania, Williams has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee that'll effectively end his 2025-26 season, and thus confirming the Jazz's initial fears.

Vince Williams has been ruled OUT for the rest of the game after this cheap shot by Tari Eason.

Totally unacceptable. 😒 pic.twitter.com/rWN4VKps5x
— SleeperJazz (@SleeperJazz) February 24, 2026

After the game, Jazz guard Keyonte George spoke about Williams' injury in the locker room with Deseret News' Sarah Todd, noting he was "devastated" for his teammate in the backcourt.

“Obviously devastated for Vince,” Keyonte George said. “Everybody’s gonna have their own opinion (about the play), but can’t really look into it too much. These plays, just running down the floor... just a freak accident, honestly.”

Keyonte George Calls Vince Williams Injury a Freak Accident

George wasn't one to point fingers after the controversial collision Eason had with Williams, but rather saw the move as a freak accident that wasn't with true malicious intent.

After the game, NBC cameras even caught George and Eason speaking after the game, assumed to be about the injury suffered by Williams, where the Rockets forward appeared to be shocked at the news.

Seems like Key told Tari what the injury is lookin like and he’s tryna explain himself.. pic.twitter.com/TR18LcnbuX
— 🦣HARDY BOIZ🦣 (@thatjazzzfan) February 24, 2026

Others with the Jazz, such as head coach Will Hardy, seemed to have a different perspective than George on the collision after the game.

“It doesn’t look great,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said, via Deseret News. “That’s not basketball."

Regardless of the intent, it's a tough injury to a player in Williams who had just started to get his feet wet within the Jazz's rotation after being a moving piece within the Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster deal at the trade deadline.

Williams played five games with the Jazz since his deadline move to average 4.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while shooting 35.7% from the field and 33.3% from three.

Feb 20, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Utah Jazz guard John Konchar (55) and guard Vince Williams Jr. (0) walk to the bench during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Now with the ACL tear official, it’ll force him out of the lineup for the rest of the season, and could keep him sidelined going into next season as well, depending on how smoothly his recovery pans out in the coming months and headed into the early parts of the 2026-27 campaign.

Williams also heads into the offseason with a team option worth $2.4 million that the Jazz will decide to accept or decline once the summer hits.

Even if the newcomer is slated to miss a bit of time once the season starts, it feels somewhat likely that Utah would accept his option as a cheap depth piece in the backcourt, and one that can provide some additional tenacity on the defensive end, so long as the Jazz have space for him on the roster.