DALLAS – Eager to level up with his Orlando Magic teammates this season, guard Jalen Suggs’ quest to make a leap in his sophomore campaign has momentarily been put on hold.
While attempting to set a ball screen for Paolo Banchero with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter of the Magic’s preseason road game against the Dallas Mavericks, Suggs fell awkwardly to the court and suffered a lower left leg injury. He was helped back to the locker room and did not return.
After undergoing an MRI on Friday night in Dallas, results revealed that Suggs sustained a left knee capsule sprain and bone bruise. His return to play will depend on how he responds to treatment.
“It’s part of life and it’s part of this game,” said Suggs of his latest setback. “These things happen, so I’m taking it a day at a time. I’m not worried about it. One good thing is that going through it enough last year, I’m not getting down on it. I’m not in my feelings about it. I know what I need to do to get back and to heal and to get ready to go. So, I’m in a good spot right now.”
The 6-foot-5 guard showed flashes of becoming a high-end two-way player during his rookie campaign. Among first-year players who registered at least 10 games, he finished ninth in points (11.8), third in assists (4.4), and third in steals (1.2) per contest. Along with teammates Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft was named to All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars Game.
The Gonzaga alum also possessed the third-best defensive field goal percentage (43.5 percent) among all rookies who were the closest defender to at least 200 shots last season. He played in a total of 48 games, missing a 20-game stretch in the first half of the season with a fractured thumb, and then later in the year, missed additional time due to a right ankle bone bruise.
Early in the offseason, Suggs subsequently underwent surgery to address a slight stress fracture in his right ankle. He worked tirelessly this summer both on his rehab and improving elements of his game to help elevate his play this season.
“He’s worked his tail off and he’s going to continue to work his tail off,” said Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley. “That’s what we can depend on from him.”