Utah Jazz center Udoka Azubuike, the No. 27 selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, suffered a leg injury on Wednesday afternoon while playing for the G League affiliate Salt Lake City Stars in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Azubuike, who had been assigned to the Stars to get some developmental work and additional playing time, was taking part in the Stars’ season opener in the G League bubble taking place at the Walt Disney World complex.
In the course of the game against the Erie Bayhawks, Azubuike went up for a jump-hook in the paint. While in the air, he made contact with a BayHawks player, which appeared to throw him off-balance a bit, causing him to come down and land solely on his right foot.
However, his foot appeared to land directly on top of the Erie player’s foot, and as Azubuike’s ankle rolled, his right lower leg bent violently outward.
Azubuike was subsequently carted off the court. No updates on his condition have yet been made available.
He had totaled eight points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots before his injury in the fourth quarter.
In 12 appearances with the Jazz this season, the 7-foot, 260-pound center had averaged 1.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.1 mop-up minutes per game.
Eric is a West Valley City native and a graduate of Granger High School and the University of Utah who joined The Tribune in 2003. He hoards rescue cats and guinea pigs, reads historical fiction, watches British baking shows, and obsesses over 1980s hair-metal bands in his spare time.