Hawks forward Larry Nance Jr. is expected to miss the rest of Atlanta’s 2024/25 regular season as he continues to rehabilitate from a lingering right medial femoral condyle fracture, the team has announced (via Twitter). Nance initially suffered the injury on February 10 against Orlando.
The Hawks indicated they’ll provide an update on Nance’s status after the regular season concludes next month.
At 35-37 on the year, the Hawks are currently the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed. They are 10 games clear of the No. 11-seeded Raptors, so they’ve essentially clinched a play-in tournament berth.
Assuming Atlanta survives the play-in as either a No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the East and qualifies for the actual playoffs, the wording of today’s announcement seems to indicate there’s a chance the club could add Nance back to the fold in the postseason.
The 6’8″ big man has battled injuries and has seen a limited role even when healthy for the Hawks this season. In the 24 contests he’s played, the Wyoming alum logged averages of 8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game during his first season with Atlanta. He was acquired as part of the Hawks’ offseason deal that sent former guard Dejounte Murray to New Orleans.
Nance is now the fourth Hawks player who will miss at least the end of the regular season. Most critically, starting forward Jalen Johnson tore the labrum in his left shoulder in January. Reserve center Clint Capela injured a ligament in the fourth metacarpal of his left hand last week, and is expected to be back in three-to-four weeks — i.e. at the end of the regular season. Guard Kobe Bufkin underwent surgery for a right shoulder instability in December.