Utah Jazz star Jaren Jackson Jr. suffered a torn MCL in his right knee and will be re-evaluated in six weeks, the team said Tuesday.
Jackson’s injury is reportedly not expected to require surgery, with multiple reports pegging his recovery timeline at six to eight weeks.
In just under 10 minutes of play Monday night against his former team, Jackson notched six points, three rebounds and two assists but he was ruled out of the game after Memphis guard Ty Jerome fell into Jackson’s right knee, causing it to bend awkwardly.
The Jazz are also keeping an eye on Lauri Markkanen, who also left Monday’s game with a right wrist injury. An MRI on Tuesday revealed to be a sprain of the shooting wrist of the 7-footer.
The Jazz listed him as day-to-day. Utah is reportedly hopeful Markkanen’s injury won’t require an extended period away.
Jackson logged 24 points and 10 rebounds to help rally the Jazz to a 120-119 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the team’s home opener Friday and was averaging 16.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the first four games of this season.
Jackson missed the remainder of last season after undergoing left knee surgery in February to remove a benign, non-cancerous growth known as pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS).
The surgery occurred shortly after a blockbuster trade sent him, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies to Utah for Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang and three first-round draft picks.
Now in his ninth NBA season, Jackson averaged 22.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in three games (all starts) with the Jazz last season after contributing 19.2 points and 5.8 boards in 45 games with the Grizzlies before the trade.
Drafted by Memphis with the fourth overall pick in 2018, Jackson has career averages of 18.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 459 regular-season games (450 starts). He was an All-Star in 2022-23 and 2024-25.
Jackson was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2022-23 and is a three-time All-Defensive team selection and two-time league leader in blocked shots. He has three seasons left on a five-year, $205 million contract that also includes a player option for the 2029-30 season.
Markkanen is averaging 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in four games (all starts) this season.
Signed to a four-year, $195.9 million contract, Markkanen was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in his first season with Utah in 2022-23 and earned his first All-Star selection that same campaign.
A first-round pick (No. 7 overall) in the 2017 NBA Draft, Markkanen has career averages of 18.9 points and 7.1 rebounds in 496 games (470 starts) with the Chicago Bulls (2017-21), Cleveland Cavaliers (2021-22) and Jazz.
