The San Antonio Spurs announced Wednesday that first-round draft pick Jayden Quaintance underwent a successful procedure to repair the meniscus in his right knee.
Quaintance, 18, saw action in only four games for Kentucky last season after continuing to experience complications from a torn ACL sustained in February 2025 during his freshman year at Arizona State. Despite entering college at 17 and averaging 2.6 blocks and 1.1 steals in 29.5 minutes for the Sun Devils, lingering health concerns caused the 6-foot-10 big man to slide to the No. 20 selection in the 2026 NBA Draft.
San Antonio was aware additional surgery would be needed when it selected him. “We do our homework and we’ve got a great medical team that’s very thorough,” general manager Brian Wright told the San Antonio Express-News, noting that the organization reviewed Quaintance’s rehabilitation plan in detail before the draft.
The Spurs later traded into the No. 26 spot to pick Tarris Reed Jr., a more NBA-ready frontcourt option, while planning for Quaintance’s longer recovery timeline.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported that Quaintance will likely miss the start of next season and could return at some point in 2027. The rookie said he is comfortable with the organization’s cautious approach. “They said their priority is making sure that I’m 100% healthy,” Quaintance explained. “I’m trusting the medical staff here that they’re going to put me in the best position to be successful.”
Source: Hoops Rumors
