Jazz devastated by Taylor Hendricks’ injury

DALLAS — Taylor Hendricks yelled out and then buried his head in his hands. Walker Kessler, standing right next to Hendricks, looked down, saw Hendricks’ leg and turned away before looking back at Hendricks one last time, unable to wrap his head around what he was seeing. Jazz head coach Will Hardy grimaced as he walked onto the court toward Hendricks. The arena was nearly silent.
“I didn’t see exactly how he fell, I just saw him on the ground and obviously it was pretty apparent he was injured,” Kessler said. “I just… just prayers out to him. Everyone needs to pray for him right now.”
Just three games into his second year in the NBA, Hendricks suffered a horrific injury — a fractured right fibula and dislocated right ankle.
“That’s hard to stomach,” Hardy said, his eyes getting watery as he spoke. “He’s put in a lot of hard work, he’s a great kid and so we’re really just trying to focus on him, his health, keeping his spirits up as he begins the road of his recovery. These are the moments in sports that suck. He’s put in a lot of work, and he deserves an opportunity.”
Just hours before, Hardy was fielding questions about Hendricks’ defensive abilities, his improvement on the offensive end and the confidence that he was showing after a summer of hard work.
Hendricks spent a large part of his rookie season in the G League with the SLC Stars after the Jazz drafted him ninth overall in 2023. Following the trade deadline, Hendricks started getting regular rotation minutes with the Jazz and although he showed flashes of natural instincts on the court, it was clear that he was being held back by a lack of strength.
Over the offseason, Hendricks put on 17 pounds of muscle and spent nearly the entirety of the summer in Utah, working with the Jazz’s development staff. Through summer league, preseason and in the first couple of games this season it was apparent that the hard work was paying off.
George, who was drafted 16th overall by the Jazz in the same draft as Hendricks, said that the two had spent a lot of time working out together this summer, talking about matchups they were going to take on this year, how they were going to take a leap together this season and help establish a young and foundational core for this Jazz team. George said, those were the things going through his mind as he watched with tears in his eyes from the bench on Monday night.
“I was trying to hold myself together, but it’s bigger than just basketball,” George said, trying to hold back tears. “I see him every day and we talk about stuff other than basketball. It’s just put me in an emotional state, because I know when I went down (with an ankle injury), he was the same way for me. That’s just my brother. I didn’t know him growing up, but building a relationship with him over the year, he felt like family. I told him I loved him, told him I’m here for him, whatever he needs.”
Hendricks left the arena with the Jazz to return back to Utah late Monday night. On Tuesday he’ll undergo further testing and imaging before making a medical plan. The injury will no doubt require surgery and Hendricks will almost certainly be ruled out for the rest of the season.
Players who have suffered similar injuries have generally needed nine months or more before returning to play, and the Jazz are not going to rush anything with Hendricks, being as cautious and deliberate as possible.
The Jazz players and coaching staff all reiterated the need to surround Hendricks with love and support through what will probably be a long time away from the court. John Collins said love was the most important thing right now, Collin Sexton confidently said that Hendricks would be alright because the team would make sure of it, and Hardy echoed those sentiments, saying, “We’ll help him get back.”
Though a small sample size, Hendricks provided much needed length and size for the Jazz defensively, and that’s what the Jazz will miss the most without him on the court.
“You talk about giving something to the team, he was willing to give up his whole offensive game to stop the guy that we wanted to stop each and every night,” George said of Hendricks. “We talk about being selfless all the time. I think he was really giving it all he had on what his job was each and every night so far. So, I think we just gonna miss his length, mis his competitiveness. But now it’s just time for guys to step up. Cody (Williams) Kyle (Filipowski), all the young guys, even me. I gotta step up my game on that side of the ball, because we’re gonna miss a lot.”
After the injury, Filipowski checked into the game for Hendricks. It’s clear that Filipowski and Williams, as George mentioned, are likely to see a lot more playing time in the wake of Hendricks’ absence.
It was difficult for the team to lock in and try to keep their mind on the game in those moments after Hendricks was stretchered off the floor, and they won’t have much time to sit with their feelings. They had to finish the second half against the Mavericks and they have another game Tuesday night at the Delta Center.
“If I’m being honest, there are probably moments after that where I’m not quite thinking very clearly. So I assume for the players, it’s the same thing,” Hardy said. “It’s hard. It’s really hard. I wish I had an answer for how to perfectly go about that. … You just try to do your best to give everybody a little bit of attention, let them know that Taylor is going to be okay in the long run, and that we need to find a way to refocus.”