In a brutal blow for both the Utah Jazz’s play-off hopes and his own NBA career, Joe Ingles will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL.
Fans feared the worst after Ingles suffered a non-contact injury during yesterday’s game, and that news was confirmed this morning.
“Just knowing how much this means for him, this game means to them and what we mean to him, you know, so it’s tough,” Jazz guard Mike Conley said after the loss to Minnesota.
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Ingles, the Jazz’s all-time three-point leader, has spent eight season with the team but will be a free agent at the end of the 2021-22 season – which makes the timing of his injury particularly bad.
“It’s not even about the basketball; just having him in the locker room is good for us. He’s our guy,” teammate Rudy Gay said.
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There’s a real possibility that Ingles has played in the NBA for the last time.
At 34-years-old, he will be sidelined for almost an entire year, and teams may be hesitant to take a chance on someone coming off an injury such as his.
The only positive was that no other structural damage was found in his knee other than the ACL tear.
Ingles was averaging 7.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for the Jazz, who currently sit fourth in the western conference with a 30-20 record.
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