Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen will miss at least two weeks after an MRI revealed a right hip impingement, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The injury occurred during Wednesday’s practice, and the club plans to reevaluate the 7-footer in 14 days.
Markkanen also had imaging on the right ankle he tweaked in the same workout, but those results were clean, Charania added.
When available this season, the 29-year-old has delivered All-Star–level production, posting averages of 26.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 34.4 minutes across 42 starts. After appearing in Utah’s first 22 games, he has suited up for only 20 of the last 36, missing time with various minor issues, including a seven-game bout with illness in January.
The Jazz have already ruled fellow starters Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic out for the remainder of the season for health reasons. At 18-40, Utah owns the NBA’s sixth-worst record and has incentive to finish near the bottom to protect its top-eight–protected 2026 first-round pick.
The league fined the franchise $500,000 earlier this month for its handling of Markkanen and Jackson in separate games. While an initial report suggested the NBA would send an independent physician to Salt Lake City to verify Markkanen’s MRI, multiple outlets, including The Stein Line and The Athletic, later clarified that the league will simply review the imaging results, a standard practice under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Source: Hoops Rumors
