All Utah Jazz fans remember the days of Dante Exum Island. He never quite became the player the Jazz envisioned, but he would always show flashes. While that day will never come, Exum's comeback into the NBA two years ago was exciting even for Jazz fans. However, Exum's injury demons have unfortunately resurfaced, as he will miss the entire 2025-26 season.
HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported that Exum will miss the entire season following confirmation he will need a second surgery on his right knee.
JUST IN: Dallas Mavericks guard Danté Exum will miss the remainder of the season. Exum has continued to deal with complications from a right knee procedure in the offseason, and it has been determined that a follow-up surgery will be necessary. pic.twitter.com/ImZmkWoncP
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) November 20, 2025
Jazz fans are all too familiar with this. After his raw rookie year, the injury bug basically destroyed Exum. He had his moments where he looked like a star in the making, but suffering one injury after another got in the way.
Making it even sadder is that there's no telling what would have happened to the Jazz had Exum been able to shed the injury bug permanently once the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert era came into full swing. Having an oversized point guard who could defend pretty much any position would have been very useful during such an era, when the Jazz's biggest problem then was a lack of two-way players.
Granted, they made the most of the situation by getting Jordan Clarkson, but before the injuries, Exum had a higher ceiling. Exum is basically the Jazz's Greg Oden. Yeah, he was a bust, but it wasn't his fault, nor anyone else's, for that matter.
Why it hits different this time
Exum being out yet again feels different this time because he actually resurrected his NBA career and made himself into a solid player for the Mavericks. More than that, his play factored into the team going on a surprise run to the NBA Finals two years ago,
So to see that another year of his career has been taken away yet again because his body just won't hold up hurts even worse this time. He's not a Jazzman anymore, but it's a shame to see it happen when it looked like he had carved out his niche in the NBA.
It's even more painful because Jazz fans also can't be too surprised by this. Because it's happened too many times back when Exum played for Utah, knowing that he's going through it yet again in Dallas makes it harder.
Here's to hoping this isn't the end for Exum's career. Just another temporary setback. He has come back before when many thought his NBA days were over. He may very well, but a sad fact about him is that even if he comes back, it typically hasn't been long before the injury bug takes over when he does.