Jazz’s Taylor Hendricks Reveals Major Injury Update

The Utah Jazz took a punch to the gut at the beginning of this season with their brutal injury to second-year forward Taylor Hendricks.
Just three games into his second year pro, Hendricks suffered from a gruesome ankle injury resulting in a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle, effectively sidelining him for the remainder of the 2024-25 season and cutting his sophomore campaign rather short.
A undoubtably rough start for the Jazz and fans alike to kick off the year. However, it seems the arrow could be trending up on Hendricks’ return to the floor.
Hendricks recently revealed a key update for his recovery process now with the Jazz’s offseason right around the corner, noting that by May, or even before then, he projects to be back to 100%.
"[The plan is] by May, I'll be 100%; but the way I'm feeling, I'll be ready way before then,” Hendricks said.
It’s a major step in the right direction for Hendricks. Considering the last time we saw Hendricks taking the floor ended with him leaving on a stretcher, seeing him on track to be fully recovered nearly by season’s end should be a huge dose of good news for Jazz fans.
It’s been a lengthy process for Hendricks to near his way back to competition, but it’s been one that Hendricks himself has taken in stride.
"My belief in Jesus Christ and me trusting his plan and knowing that he doesn't make mistakes," Hendricks said. "So it wasn't meant for me to play this season, but next year is going to be real fun."
Hendricks made sure to stamp his mark in the Jazz rotation during his first year in the league, putting together 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and nearly a block and a steal a game as a young, budding two-way player in the frontcourt to build with for the foreseeable future.
His injury at the beginning of the year has since put a pin in those plans for this year, but now with his status improvements taking place, it seems he’ll be more than ready to go for next season, and even so for Summer League looming in July.
And for Hendricks, it’ll be a long time coming to finally find his way back to the floor after months of missing the action.
"The toughest part is just not being able to play, just coming to the games, and not being able to check in and help my guys," Hendricks said. "I feel like what I do could really help us and it's really what we're kind of missing a little bit."
Getting Hendricks paired with the Jazz’s already appealing young core, along with whatever contributors Utah brings in with their three picks in this year’s draft, should make for big steps in the right direction for next season, and ultimately this long-spanning rebuild.
It’s far from an overnight process, but in the slow grind to the top, the pieces are slowly, but surely, coming together.