Utah Jazz guard Vince Williams Jr. had an MRI exam on Tuesday and was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee, ending his season, ESPN reported.
Williams was injured in a collision with Houston forward Tari Eason early in the second quarter of the host Rockets’ 125-105 victory on Monday. Eason reportedly gave Williams a hip-check push as they were running down the court on a fast break. Williams’ knee bent in the wrong direction as he fell out of bounds in front of the Utah bench, the Deseret News reported.
“That’s not basketball,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said of the play after the game.
Williams, 25, had one point, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in eight minutes before his exit and later left the arena on crutches. Eason told the Deseret News after the game that he went to the Jazz locker room to check on Williams.
“I’ve known Vince for a little bit and he’s just a really good dude, hard-working dude,” Eason told the Deseret News. “It was just respect. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, and I know it’s his contract year … I didn’t intend on doing anything. My intentions are always just to play hard. So I went to go holler and just check on him. Obviously nothing helps, but just tell him that I apologize. You know, nobody’s trying to hurt anybody.”
Jazz guard Keyonte George said he was “devastated for Vince.”
“Everybody’s gonna have their own opinion (about the play) but can’t really look into it too much,” George said, per the Deseret News. “These plays, just running down the floor … just a freak accident, honestly.”
This season, Williams averaged 4.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 14.0 minutes in six games for the Jazz since a Feb. 3 trade with the Memphis Grizzlies that also sent All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah.
Williams averaged 8.0 points, 4.4 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 21.6 minutes in 34 games (12 starts) with the Grizzles this season. For his career since the 2022-23 season, he is averaging 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 21.3 minutes in 134 regular-season games (51 starts).
Memphis selected Williams in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft out of VCU.
