1:07 pm: Orlando has confirmed the news of Suggs’ impending surgery (via Twitter). The Magic note that his return timeline will depend on how his body responds to rehab.
12:22 pm: All-Defensive Team Magic guard Jalen Suggs will have a cartilage fragment removed from his left knee via arthroscopic surgery, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel reports that Suggs will undergo surgery this week, and the Magic anticipate that he will fully recover.
Earlier this week, Suggs had been sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with a trochlea injury in his left knee. The team had reportedly considered a litany of non-surgical interventions, including physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medication and rest, but ultimately determined that surgery was the best route.
The 23-year-old had already been shelved for Orlando’s last 14 games with what was originally called a left quad contusion. All told, the young guard has been out for 24 of Orlando’s last 25 contests, having also dealt with a low back strain in January.
Suggs had been building toward a return to action in recent weeks, but soon felt some lingering discomfort in his left knee. Further imaging revealed the trochlea injury.
The former No. 5 pick out of Gonzaga has averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season for Orlando. Suggs is widely seen as one of the league’s elite perimeter defenders, and he has clearly been missed on both ends of the floor.
Orlando has gone 20-15 across Suggs’ 35 healthy bouts this year, and an underwhelming 9-17 when he has sat. The Magic had been a top-four seed for much of the season prior to his injuries but is now 29-32 and the East’s No. 8 seed.
As Charania notes (via Twitter), Suggs has played sparingly this season with Orlando’s other top rising talents, All-Star forward Paolo Banchero and fellow starting forward Franz Wagner. Collectively, that triumvirate has only shared the hardwood for 97 total minutes in 2024/25.
In October, Orlando inked Suggs to a five-season, $150.5MM rookie scale extension. That fully-guaranteed deal will kick in when the 2025/26 league year begins. He is clearly considered a major part of the club’s long-term future, but it’s unclear when he’ll be able to contribute again.
Magic started out so well. Then injuries started to derail them. Now under .500. Keeps getting worse.
Its tough in the real world.
Should’ve put some injury leverage in that contract.