With just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter of Utah’s 125-105 loss to the Houston Rockets, Vince Williams Jr. and Tari Eason collided while fighting for the ball.
Initial replays suggested a knee injury. But a new angle shared on social media revealed something far more alarming.
Eason, rather than using speed, made hard contact that caught Williams off balance. The result was a grotesque knee hyperextension the kind that immediately raises fears of an ACL tear.
Williams was helped off the court and did not return. An MRI is scheduled for Tuesday, but early indications are not promising. Multiple reports describe the injury as a “significant” concern.
To Eason’s credit, he reportedly went to the Jazz locker room after the game to check on Williams—a classy gesture amid an ugly situation.
The injury comes at a brutal time for Utah. The Jazz are already dealing with fallout from a $500,000 fine imposed by the league for resting Lauri Markkanen in what was deemed an unjustified absence.
Now they face the very real possibility of losing a player to injury the exact outcome teams try to avoid when they rest stars.
Injuries are the cruelest part of professional sports. One moment, a player is competing. The next, his season and potentially his career trajectory hangs in the balance of an MRI.
The basketball world waits. And hopes.