While playing for the Australian National Team in early August, Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum tore his ACL. The non-contact injury happened in an exhibition against Slovenia and immediately it was assumed Exum's 2015-16 season would likely be full of rehab and probably not any real game action. A timetable has not been set for his recovery yet, but the Jazz announced Thursday that Exum underwent successfully surgery to repair the injured knee.
From the Jazz:
Exum underwent successful surgery today to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The surgery was performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache of Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic following consultations with Jazz physician Dr. Travis Maak and University of Utah Health Care as well as Dr. Brian Cole of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush in Chicago. Jazz head athletic trainer Brian Zettler accompanied Exum.
Once he is cleared to travel, Exum will return to Salt Lake City to begin his rehabilitation.
He suffered the injury on Aug. 4 while competing for the Australian National Team in a game against the Slovenian National Team in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
A timeline for his return to activity will be established at a later date, and further updates will be provided when appropriate.
Exum was highly regarded prior to the 2014 NBA Draft, despite not having a lot of video of his play nor experience in professional ranks. Still, the 6-foot-6 guard out of Australia was too good for the Jazz to pass up with the fifth pick in the draft. Exum wasn't anything spectacular as a rookie and struggled a lot to find consistency on the court. However, he played in all 82 games as a rookie.
He averaged 4.8 points, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 rebounds in 22.2 minutes. He shot just 34.9 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from 3-point range.
