Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson will undergo surgery to repair his injured left shoulder and will miss the rest of the season, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.
He sustained the injury while blocking a layup attempt by Toronto’s Scottie Barnes in the second quarter of Atlanta’s 122-119 road loss last Thursday.
Johnson, 23, previously missed five games with a right shoulder problem and returned on Jan. 18.
He leads the Hawks with 10.0 rebounds per game. Over 36 games, he ranks third on the team in scoring average (18.9) and second in assists (5.0) and minutes (35.7). All four averages are career bests.
Atlanta selected Johnson with the 20th overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft out of Duke. In his four-year career, he averages 11.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 23.6 minutes per game over 184 games (94 starts).
The Hawks (22-25) enter NBA play on Wednesday in ninth place in the Eastern Conference but only two games out of sixth place and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.
Losers of six in a row, the Hawks will meet the conference-leading Cavaliers on Thursday in Cleveland.
–Field Level Media
