One team has failed to win a single game so far during the 2024-25 NBA season. That team is the Utah Jazz, as they find themselves 0-4 ahead of a Halloween night matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. To make matters worse, the Jazz have been negatively impacted by injuries early on in the season, as second-year forward Taylor Hendricks suffered a gruesome-looking leg injury that will force him to miss the rest of the year, and All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen left the team’s last game with a back injury.
While it doesn’t appear as if Markkanen’s injury is serious to the point where he will miss a prolonged period of time, Utah’s star finds himself on the injury report ahead of Thursday’s game. This injury concern has sparked the question: Is Lauri Markkanen playing against the Spurs?
Lauri Markkanen injury status vs. Spurs
The bottom line is that if the Jazz are to snap their losing streak to begin the season, Markkanen is going to have to be on the court. He is their best player and primary scoring option, which is why he will be needed on Thursday night against Wembanyama and the Spurs. However, Markkanen’s status is still uncertain, as he finds himself listed as questionable to play with what the team is calling low back spasms.
Markkanen left Tuesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings with this back injury after just 17 minutes on the court. He finished the game with seven points and three rebounds to his name.
In order for the Jazz to get to where they want to be and possibly salvage what has transpired to begin the new year, then Markkanen will need to be available and on the floor. After becoming an All-Star during the 2022-23 campaign, Markkanen averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in 55 total games last season.
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As a result of his commitment to the organization and success on the court, the Jazz restructured Markkanen’s current contract and gave him a new extension. He will now make $238 million through the 2028-29 season after being included in a lot of offseason trade rumors, mainly connected to the Golden State Warriors.
If Markkanen is held out of action on Thursday night against the Spurs, it will be John Collins, Cody Williams, and Brice Sensabaugh that see their minutes increase. Rookie big man Kyle Filipowski could also see his role increase with Hendricks out of the equation. The possible absence of Markkanen would also lead to Collin Sexton and Keyonte George being Utah’s main scoring factors against San Antonio.
So, when it comes to the question of if Markkanen is going to be playing in Thursday night’s game, Utah will provide further details on his official status during pregame warmups.