Utah Jazz: Udoka Azubuike suffers yet another right ankle injury

Utah Jazz center Udoka Azubuike, wearing black, grabs a rebound — Utah Jazz center Udoka Azubuike (20) grabs a rebound as the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets play an NBA basketball game at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. Utah won 108-104.

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For the third time in his young NBA career, Udoka Azubuike is looking at an extended period rehabbing from a right ankle injury.

On Thursday night in Frisco, Texas, playing against the Texas Legends while on assignment with the Salt Lake City Stars, Azubuike suffered an injury to the same ankle that has previously kept him out for months.

The plan is for Azubuike to join the Jazz in San Antonio and then fly back to Utah with the team to undergo further testing as well as an MRI on Saturday to determine the extent of the injury.

“You’re crushed and everyone in our locker room and our staff felt that,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said on Friday night. “You can imagine how he must feel.”

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Azubuike’s first right ankle injury, a severe sprain, happened in the opening game of the G League bubble in Orlando in his rookie season and kept him sidelined for more than two months.

Despite the lack of playing time, the Jazz picked up the third-year option on Azubuike’s rookie contract, believing that he could still develop into a useful player. But just a few weeks after picking up that option, Azubuike was again sidelined when he suffered a subluxation of his right ankle in a game with the Stars, an injury that could indicate weakness and stretching of the ligaments around the ankle.

Azubuike again spent weeks rehabbing before finally returning to action and being given an opportunity to step in and help the Jazz this season. He started multiple games for the Jazz when Rudy Gobert was sidelined with a calf injury and played significant minutes as the Jazz navigated players not being available because of the league health and safety protocols.

Just as it was seeming that he had begun to gain confidence and was developing into something more than a young and raw player, Azubuike will likely have another extended rehab period ahead of him.

“We’ll know more when they dig down deeper into the MRI and those things, but it’s just gut-wrenching for him,” Snyder said. “It has a big impact on our team, a big impact on our team.”

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