Former Gonzaga standout Jalen Suggs appears to avoid serious injury after awkward fall in NBA preseason game

Jim Meehan, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
·2 min read
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Oct. 8—Jalen Suggs has received a seemingly favorable diagnosis after suffering an untimely knee injury in Orlando's preseason game Friday.

Suggs sustained a left knee capsule sprain and bone bruise, the Magic announced Saturday morning. There isn't a firm timetable for his return. It will depend on how Suggs responds to treatment, the team said.

Suggs was bumped off-balance by Dallas guard Spencer Dinwiddie while trying to set a screen for No. 1 draft pick Paolo Banchero and landed awkwardly on his left knee. He fell to court immediately, clutching his knee. The former Gonzaga standout barely put any weight on his left leg as he exited the court with help from the training staff.

It appears Suggs avoided a more serious injury, which was the concern after he seemed to hyperextend his knee on the play.

"The X-rays were negative on him," Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said Friday night. "He's worked his tail off and he's going to continue to work his tail off. That's what we can depend on him for him. Just hoping for the best for him right now."

Orlando selected Suggs with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 11.8 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds but was limited to 48 games by a fractured thumb early on and an ankle injury late in the season.

He had offseason surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right ankle and worked diligently to prepare for his second NBA season.

His status for the season opener Oct. 19 at Detroit wasn't clear.

Suggs averaged 14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his only season as a Zag.

It's been a tough few months on the injury front for Suggs and Chet Holmgren, his former teammate at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis and on the AAU circuit.

Holmgren, who played one season at Gonzaga before being selected second overall by Oklahoma City in the 2022 draft, will miss his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot suffered at Jamal Crawford's "Crawsover" pro-am in Seattle in August.