SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — After suffering a season-ending injury, Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks is finding ways to stay involved off the court. That includes drawing up plays for his teammates.
Hendricks drew up a play to run early in a home game against the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 12. His play design set up John Collins to make a stepback midrange jumper for Utah’s first basket of the game.
“He was sitting over there, and the board was by him, so I sent the first group over, gave him the board, and said, ‘Taylor’s going to draw up the first play for you,’” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “It was fun. It was fun to watch him draw. It was even more fun to watch him explain it.”
Drawing up plays for teammates while watching from the sideline is the last way Hendricks or the Jazz expected his second season in the NBA to unfold.
Hendricks hoped to take a major step forward as a defensive specialist in his sophomore season. Instead, he fractured his right fibula and dislocated his ankle on Oct. 28 in his third game, a 110-102 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, when he lost his footing while running down the court and landed awkwardly. Hendricks was wheeled off the floor on a stretcher.
Initially, he didn’t think the noncontact injury was as serious as it appeared.
“I thought I was good because the doctor that came over, he snapped it back into place and I was like: ‘I’m probably straight. I’ll be out for a week or two and then I’m back,’” Hendricks said.
X-rays revealed extensive damage and Hendricks had surgery a few days later. He’s wearing a protective boot and getting around on a scooter at practices and home games these days.
Hendricks isn’t cleared to travel with the Jazz and won’t be until he no longer needs a scooter or crutches, which won’t be until January at the earliest.
Not being able to play again this season was heartbreaking, Hendricks said, after putting in extra work during the offseason to improve his game. In his three games, he averaged 4.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 25.0 minutes.
Hendricks was selected by Utah ninth overall in the 2023 draft and appeared in 40 games as a rookie, making 23 starts and averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds.
“I was definitely a lot more comfortable on the floor,” Hendricks said. “That’s really why I was so excited to play my second year just 'cause I knew what to expect and I was so much more comfortable.”
Still, he’s tried to keep an optimistic attitude about the grueling rehabilitation ahead. Hendricks said he isn’t feeling antsy to rush through it because he knows he won’t be able to return to the court until next season.
“Just keeping that in mind makes me really take it day by day and really take it slow and not try to rush anything because I’m not trying to rush for a certain date to play again,” Hendricks said.
The Jazz are also taking a cautious approach. Hardy said the ideal return date is training camp ahead of the 2025-26 season, but they don’t want to rush him back and cause more harm.
“There’s no reason to talk about things like summer league right now because with an injury at this level, and how much we value Taylor, it’s about getting it right and getting it 100% right,” Hardy said.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
John Coon, The Associated Press
