Utah Jazz devastated by Taylor Hendricks injury – Deseret News

DALLAS — Taylor Hendricks screamed and then buried his head in his hands. Walker Kessler, who was standing right next to Hendricks, looked down, saw Hendricks' leg and turned away before looking back at Hendricks one last time, unable to wrap his head around what he was seeing. Jazz head coach Will Hardy grimaced as he walked toward Hendricks on the field. There was near silence in the arena.

“I didn’t see exactly how he fell, I just saw him on the ground and it was obviously pretty obvious that he was injured,” Kessler said. “I just… just pray to him. Everyone needs to pray for him now.”

Just three games into his second year in the NBA, Hendricks suffered a horrific injury – a fractured right fibula and a dislocated right ankle.

“This is hard to take,” Hardy said, his eyes watering as he spoke. “He's done a lot of hard work, he's a great kid and so we're really just trying to focus on him and his health and keep him in good spirits as he starts the road to recovery. These are the moments in sports that suck. He has put in a lot of work and deserves a chance.”

Just hours earlier, Hardy fielded questions about Hendricks' defensive abilities, his improvement on offense and the confidence he showed after a summer of hard work.

Hendricks spent much of his rookie season in the G League with the SLC Stars after the Jazz drafted him ninth overall in 2023. After the trade deadline, Hendricks began getting regular rotation minutes with the Jazz, and even though he showed signs of natural instincts, it was clear to the court that he was being held back by a lack of strength.

In the offseason, Hendricks gained 17 pounds of muscle and spent most of the summer in Utah working with the Jazz's development team. Throughout summer league, preseason and the first few games of this season, it was clear the hard work was paying off.

George, who was drafted 16th overall by the Jazz in the same draft as Hendricks, said the two spent a lot of time training together this summer, talking about the matchups they would play this year and about how they would take a collective leap this season and help form a young and fundamental core for this Jazz team. George said those were the things going through his mind as he watched from the bench with tears in his eyes Monday night.

“I tried to keep it together, but it's about more than just basketball,” George said, trying to hold back tears. “I see him every day and we talk about things other than basketball. It just put me in an emotional state because I know when I went down (with an ankle injury) I felt the same way. That's just my brother. I didn't know him growing up, but as I developed a relationship with him over the year, he felt like family. I told him I loved him, that I was there for him no matter what he needed.”

Hendricks left the arena with the Jazz to return to Utah late Monday night. He will undergo further testing and imaging on Tuesday before a medical plan is made. The injury will undoubtedly require surgery and Hendricks will almost certainly miss the remainder of the season.

Players who have suffered similar injuries have typically taken nine months or longer before returning to play, and the Jazz won't rush anything with Hendricks, instead being as careful and deliberate as possible.

The Jazz players and coaching staff all reiterated the need to surround Hendricks with love and support during what will likely be a long absence from the field. John Collins said love was the most important thing right now, Collin Sexton said confidently that Hendricks would be fine because the team would make it happen, and Hardy echoed those sentiments, saying, “We'll help him come back.”

Although it was only a small sample size, Hendricks provided much-needed length and size for the Jazz on defense, and that's what the Jazz will miss most without him on the court.

“When you talk about giving to the team, he was willing to give up his entire offensive game to stop the guy we wanted to stop every night,” George said of Hendricks. “We talk about being selfless all the time. I think he's really tried his best to do his job every night so far. I think we'll just miss his length and his competitiveness. But now it's just time for the boys to take things a step further. Cody (Williams), Kyle (Filipowski), all the young guys, even me. I need to improve my game on that side of the ball because we’re going to miss a lot.”

After the injury, Filipowski came on for Hendricks. It's clear that, as George mentioned, Filipowski and Williams will likely see a lot more playing time following Hendricks' absence.

In the moments after Hendricks was pulled from the floor, it was difficult for the team to focus on the game and keep it top of mind, and they won't have much time to express their feelings. They had to close out the second half against the Mavericks and have another game at the Delta Center on Tuesday night.

“If I'm honest, there will probably be moments afterwards where I can't think completely straight. So I assume it’s the same for the players,” Hardy said. “It is difficult. It's really hard. I wish I had an answer on how to approach this perfectly. … Just try to do your best to give everyone a little attention and let them know that Taylor is going to be OK in the long run and that we need to find a way to refocus.”