SALT LAKE CITY — This week, Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum participated fully in a team practice for the first time since injuring his right knee last spring. Selected No. 5 overall in the 2014 NBA draft, the former lottery pick suffered a partial tear of his patellar tendon in March that required surgery and hours of intensive rehabilitation over the ensuing months.
Highly touted for this athleticism, defense and point guard skills, Exum’s career has been plagued by injuries, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that cost him the entire 2015-16 season, a shoulder injury during the 2017-2018 season, as well as a bone bruise and subsequent ankle sprain last season prior to the right knee injury.
Despite the setbacks, the now 24-year-old is on the mend and getting closer to resume playing the game he loves.
“I’m feeling really good. It was good to finally get back out there with the guys,” he said Wednesday at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus. “Just with the schedule it’s kind of been a little tough to get one of those full practices in with them.”
He said the main point of full participation is to ensure he is ready to play and the team is comfortable with the decision to have him return to game competition.
“It is hard to kind of prepare to get these kind of NBA level practices with us going in and out (of town) so much at the start of the season, but I’ve been practicing with the (G-League Salt Lake) Stars and helping them prepare and they’ve been helping me prepare. So that’s been really good.”
Asked about when he could return to game action, Exum said there is no specific target date.
“I kind of say it’s going to be whenever,” Exum said. “It’s just going to be the right preparation and when I’m ready.”
He said getting into game-ready shape is among his top priorities.
“Condition obviously goes down with not being able to run for three or four months,” he said. “Now, I’ve been feeling good and being able to get on the court, get up and down as much as I wanted to.”
He said once he’s cleared to play, he looks forward to contributing to the team’s quest to become a title contender.
“The strengths that I’ve always brought. We’ve been playing really good defensively and I just want to add to that,” Exum said. “Trying to get into the paint as much as possible finding open shooters. We have a lot of shooters on this team this year, so the more open shots that we can get, the better.”
“You can see it starting to come together on the floor. Everyone’s getting more and more comfortable with each other.” — Dante Exum
He described the current Jazz roster as “a good group of guys that connect well off the court” that is also beginning to mesh well on the court.
“You can see it starting to come together on the floor,” he said. “Everyone’s getting more and more comfortable with each other.”
Having suffered through so many injuries and rehab stints, Exum said he has learned to manage his emotions and become mentally stronger, which has helped him persevere through so much adversity.
“It’s a mindset. The hardest one was coming back from was the ACL. It’s just such a tough injury to get comfortable with coming back, but after you’ve gone through the trenches that I’ve had to come out of, this (rehab) is small for me,” he said. “As long as I feel comfortable, once I say I’m ready to go, I’ll be ready hundred percent to give my effort.”
Teammate and fellow Aussie Joe Ingles lauded Exum’s determination and perseverance in the face of this latest injury rehab stint. He said Exum has shown exceptional mental toughness to fight back from injury and get back on the court fully healthy.
“Just to see him (showing) the maturity through it — to keep working hard, to keep figuring out new ways to get his body right, to get it where it needs to be to play consistently,” Ingles explained. “Maturity to the everyday approach of what he needs to do to get his body back to where he needs to be and then to be ready to come in whenever he’s ready to play and help others.
“I think it’s on-court, off-court, his diet, his conditioning. It’s more than just him working on his jump shot,” Ingles added. “As a good friend, to see him do all that and stay positive and to stay up and about can be really hard.”
Ingles noted that Exum has surrounded himself with people who keep his spirits up and stay on track regarding his rehabilitation.
“He’s got really good people around him, his family and all — who I know well — and they’ve obviously been huge for him,” Ingles said. “He’s also got a franchise that believes in him unbelievably, a coach and an organization and (general manager) and owners. He’s a super-high character guy.”
He said when Exum is finally able to step on the court for real-game competition, his versatility and talents will be a welcome addition.
“The first day as soon as he checks in, the energy and the excitement for not only him, but for the fans and for the team who’s seen him go through what he’s had to go through — everyone will be pretty excited for him that day,” Ingles said. “Whenever that day is for him, it’ll be a big exciting day.”