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By Victor Barbosa
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Utah Jazz fans were given brutal news on Tuesday afternoon when it was reported that two-time All-Star center Jaren Jackson Jr. would miss six to eight weeks due to a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee.
"JJJ" wasn't Utah's only star big man to suffer an injury during the team's loss against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
Power forward Lauri Markkanen also exited Monday's game early after he went down with a right wrist injury in the first quarter.
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Fortunately for the Jazz, Markkanen's ailment may not sideline him for long.
Jackson and Markkanen join 2025 fifth overall pick Ace Bailey in Utah's starting frontcourt, with the recently extended Keyonte George and 2026 No. 2 overall selection Darryn Peterson making up the backcourt.
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Each of the Jazz's five starters are top 16 draft picks from the last nine years, with George being selected 16th overall in 2023, Jackson being taken fourth by the Grizzlies in 2018 and Markkanen going as the seventh overall pick in 2017, before being traded to the Chicago Bulls.
The 29-year-old native of Finland is in his fifth season with Utah after being acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers in September 2022 as a part of the Donovan Mitchell blockbuster trade.
Markkanen made his first NBA All-Star team during the 2022-23 campaign with the Jazz and won that season's Most Improved Player of the Year award as well.
The Arizona product averaged a career-high 26.7 points with Utah in the 2025-26 campaign but was limited to just 42 games.
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