NBA Sharpshooter Won't Return For Playoff Team If 2020 Season Resumes During Coronavirus Pandemic

As the NBA works toward potentially resuming the 2020 season during the coronavirus pandemic, a playoff team has learned it won’t have one of its top players if the league returns, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic will undergo season-ending wrist surgery.

According to Wojnarowski, Bogdanovic played through the injury after getting hurt in 2019. He’s hoping to be ready for the start of the 2020-2021 season.

Bogdanovic signed a four-year, $73 million contract with the Jazz last offseason. He averaged a career-high 20.2 points per game in his first year in Utah. Bogdanovic made 41.4% of his 7.3 three-point attempts per game.

Only Bogdanovic and Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton averaged at least 20 points while shooting better than 40% from behind the arc and 90% from the free-throw line before the season was halted.

Bogdanovic has made more than 40% of his threes in three straight seasons.

Bogdanovic injured wrist in January and played in pain throughout season. The discomfort/injury emerged again during shutdown, sources said. Decision for surgery makes sense to protect him and franchise for long-term. He signed a four-year, $73M deal last summer. https://t.co/OwLTeYHWgO
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 18, 2020

Utah's Bojan Bogdanovic has been one of two NBA players to average 20 points, shoot 40 percent on three-pointers and 90 percent on free throws this season, per @ESPNStatsInfo. Milwaukee's Khris Middleton is the other.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 18, 2020

Utah was at the center of the NBA’s decision to suspend the season indefinitely. Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11, forcing the league to stop play until further notice.

Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell later tested positive for COVID-19. Both players have since recovered from the disease.

With a 41-23 record, Utah is the No.4 seed in the Western Conference. The Jazz are 1.5 games behind the No.3 seed Denver Nuggets and three games behind the No.2 seed Los Angeles Clippers.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a comfortable lead as the No.1 seed with a 49-14 record.

The current standings would put the Jazz against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. The Houston Rockets are the No.6 seed with the same record as Oklahoma City,

Utah won at least 48 games in each of the last three seasons. The Rockets eliminated the Jazz from the second round of the 2018 playoffs and the first round of the 2019 postseason.