Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic will undergo surgery on his right wrist and miss the rest of the 2019-20 season should it resume, the team announced on Monday afternoon.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news.
The team said that Bogdanovic suffered a ruptured scapholunate ligament in his right wrist at an undetermined time early in the 2019-20 season, but that he continued to play through the injury.
He is scheduled to undergo surgery in New York early Tuesday.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell paid tribute to his teammate on social media, writing, “Salute to my brotha [Bogdanovic] for fighting through for us all year… one of the toughest dudes I know!! Get right and ready for next season.”
Forward Joe Ingles, who stands to see an increased role with Bogdanovic out, added “Get healthy brothaaaa” in a tweet.
The Jazz said that the NBA’s hiatus due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic played no role in the timing of the decision to undergo surgery. Rather, after frequent consultations with doctors, it was simply finally deemed untenable for him to continue playing.
In his first season with the Jazz, Bogdanovic was averaging 20.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He was shooting 44.7% from the field, 41.4% from the 3-point line, and 90.3% from the free-throw line. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Bogdanovic is one of two players in the NBA this season to average 20 points, shoot 40% on 3s, and 90% on free throws, along with the Bucks’ Khris Middleton.
Bogdanovic was part of the Jazz’s major offseason overhaul toward becoming more offensively proficient. He signed a four-year $73 million deal with Utah in free agency.
The move was paying dividends, too, as Bogdanovic was on his way to becoming the Jazz’s first secondary scorer since Jeff Malone in the 1991-92 season to average more than 20 points per game.
In addition to his general shooting prowess, the forward also thrilled Jazz fans with his clutch performances, including a pair of buzzer-beating, game-winning shots — on Nov. 8 against the Bucks, and then again on Feb. 9 in Houston.
Thanks in part to Bogdanovic, Utah was in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 41-23 record when the season went on hiatus March 11 due to Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The league has yet to announce official plans for the resumption of the season, though the Jazz did open the Zions Bank Basketball Campus practice facility on May 11 for voluntary, individual workouts.
