The Jazz lost another big man in their rotation for the rest of the season.
Jusuf Nurkić will undergo season-ending surgery on his nose Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
Nurkić has been experiencing complications with his breathing and sleeping since he fractured his nose several years ago, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported.
The season-ending procedure comes at a time when Nurkić had been seeing an uptick in his production, averaging 10.9 points and 10.4 rebounds a game while shooting 50.3 percent from the field this season.
Additionally, Nurkić has averaged 4.8 assists per game this year.
The 2025-26 season has been Nurkić’s first with the Jazz after playing for the Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Suns and Hornets.
Nurkić will be an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason and is near the end of a four-year, $70 million contract that he originally signed with the Trail Blazers in 2022.
He now joins a growing list of Jazz players who have had their seasons cut short due to injury.
Jaren Jackson Jr. recently underwent knee surgery to deal with a non-cancerous growth, and Walker Kessler had his season end prematurely in early November after suffering a torn labrum.
The organization had also been caught up in the ongoing conversation around the NBA regarding tanking.
The NBA fined the Jazz $500,000 for a violation of the league’s player participation policy.
The fine stemmed from instances on Feb. 7 and Feb. 9 where the NBA said the Jazz took out Lauri Markkanen and Jackson Jr. before the start of the fourth quarter and did not have them play the rest of the night.
“These players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt,” the league said in a statement at the time.
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