Former Utah Jazz No. 4 pick Dante Exum has suffered his latest setback in his NBA career. The injury-prone Jazz alum has suffered yet another that could affect his availability.
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported via his X account that Exum "sustained a serious right wrist injury that could require surgery" and that "treatment options are being evaluated for Exum."
Dallas Mavericks G Dante Exum has sustained a serious right wrist injury that could require surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic. Treatment options are being evaluated for Exum, who emerged as a key reserve guard on Mavs NBA Finals run last season. Tough early season blow for Mavs. pic.twitter.com/NZXqc0UET8
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 4, 2024
This is sad news for Exum, as his comeback story after being out of the league for some time was quite a heartwarming story, though not exactly the best news for the Jazz fans who believed in him, only for him to fizzle out in Utah.
Exum became a rotation player for the Mavericks, as he helped them reach their first NBA Finals since 2011. The Mavericks didn't depend on him as much in the playoffs as they did during the regular season, but his growth and impact were undeniable.
Is this it for Dante Exum?
Before his comeback, Exum's problem was never his talent of his potential, but his unavailability. After playing his entire rookie season, Exum suffered a torn ACL in the Summer League in 2015. After that, every season, he played progressively less and less.
Because the Jazz were building a win-now team circa 2019, they ran out of patience with Exum, which is what led to the Jordan Clarkson trade. Clarkson has worked out about as well as the Jazz would have liked, so there was a saving grace there, but it is a shame that Exum couldn't put it together with the Jazz for reasons that were out of everyone's control.
And now, after being out of the NBA, Exum may face uncertainty again with this latest wrist injury. More details will likely leak out over the coming months, but sadly, this is yet another setback in Exum's extensive, long line of setbacks.
To be fair, no one thought Exum would ever make it back to the NBA, but he proved his naysayers wrong last season. His next challenge was proving he could do it again. At 29 years old, Exum is still young enough that this latest injury could be a blip on a long career.
Truth be told, he doesn't deserve everything that's happened to him, but when a player is injury-prone, eventually, the injuries start to pile up. Exum hadn't suffered a prior wrist injury until today, but he may never shed the label of being injury-prone. It's hard to see him continuing his NBA career if he can't.