Jaren Jackson Jr. will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
The Utah Jazz’s newly acquired player will have surgery over the all-star break to remove a benign tumor from his left knee.
The Jazz are expected to re-evaluate Jackson after the procedure to give an official timeline for his return, but NBA on Prime reporter Chris Haynes said that Jackson is likely to miss the remainder of the season.
The growth, which was revealed during the post-trade physical MRI Jackson underwent last week, is known as a pigmented villonodular synovitis, or PVNS tumor. It is benign and can recur after removal, but Jackson is expected to fully recover and return to play without issue.
After learning about the tumor, Jackson consulted with multiple doctors before deciding that he would have the surgery next week.
Jackson came to the Jazz in a trade that sent Taylor Hendricks, Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang and three future first-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies. John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. also joined the Jazz roster as a part of the deal from Memphis.
Jackson, a two-time All-Star and the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, was excited to join the Jazz and had wanted to play as much as he could after the trade, despite knowing that surgery was necessary. He had been doing so for the last few games on a minutes restriction since the trade with Memphis that brought him to the Jazz, according to a team source.
The news, while disappointing, is not seen as a setback for the Jazz, who are not looking to improve their record during the 2025-26 season.
With their sights set on winning in the 2026-27 season, the Jazz are glad that an MRI revealed the mass now so that the issue can be resolved swiftly.
The Jazz have one more game, Thursday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, before the all-star break begins. They are 18-37 on the season.