SAN FRANCISCO — A player with an injury-plagued career is not a new concept in the NBA. It happens all the time and often leads to a once promising prospect dwindling to the edges of a rotation and then disappearing from the league altogether.
But, for a select few, fighting through the dark days leads to opportunity and success.
Alec Burks is averaging career highs in points (16.2), rebounds (4.7), and assists (3.2) per game this season with the Golden State Warriors after spending nearly eight seasons with the Utah Jazz followed by two brief stops with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings.
Burks’ perseverance has long been one of the many qualities that endeared him to his teammates and Jazz fans.
“What he did with us before his injuries and then for him to still be the same guy and work out every day, even when he was healthy and wasn’t playing as much when he got back,” Joe Ingles said with a hint of awe in his voice Wednesday morning ahead of the Jazz’s matchup with the Warriors.
The string of injuries that plagued Burks’ career started during the 2014-15 season when he was sidelined for 55 games after shoulder surgery. Then in 2015-16 he missed 50 games with a broken fibula and then had surgery on his left ankle in 2016.
He was eventually pushed nearly out of the Jazz’s rotation before stepping into a larger role in the 2018 playoffs against Houston when Ricky Rubio went out with an injury. In November of 2018, Burks was traded to the Cavaliers and then was moved again at the trade deadline to Sacramento where he was never a real part of the rotation.
This season with the Warriors’ Splash Brother duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson sidelined with their own injuries, an opportunity opened up for Burks and he has taken advantage of it.
In 42 games, including 18 starts, Burks is having the best season of his nine year career after being drafted No. 12 overall by the Jazz in 2011.
“Everybody in our program has not only a lot of affection for Alec but also great respect for him for the way that he was able to fight through a lot of adversity physically,” Utah head coach Quin Snyder said. “The things that he’s doing, the way he’s attacking and the way he’s scoring, I don’t think anybody is surprised within our organization.”
In the last nine games for the Warriors, Burks is averaging 18.2 points and 6.1 rebounds, including a 33-point performance on Monday in an overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Burks’ former Jazz teammates are, of course, glad for his success, but as Ingles put it, Burks is now the opponent, so well-wishing can only go so far.
“Really happy for him,” Ingles said, “but I hope he plays horribly tonight.”