3:05pm: The Hawks have put out a press release officially confirming that Johnson will undergo season-ending surgery next week to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder and stating that he’s expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2025/26 season.
9:40am: Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has been diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will be sidelined for the rest of the season, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Confirming the report, Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) says Johnson will undergo surgery to repair the tear.
Johnson sustained the injury last Thursday in the second quarter of a game vs. Toronto while defending Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (video link).
It’s an extremely unfortunate turn of events for the Hawks and for Johnson, who had averaged 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 block in 35.7 minutes per game so far this season.
The fourth-year forward, who made 50.0% of his shots from the field in 36 outings this season, looked like a borderline All-Star candidate and a contender for Most Improved Player votes.
Johnson was a key contributor for an Atlanta team that exceeded expectations in the first half of the season. Given an over/under of 35.5 wins by oddsmakers entering the season, the Hawks were 22-19 at the midway point. However, they’ve lost their last six games in a row and now sit ninth in the Eastern Conference at 22-25.
While they still look like a strong candidate to be a play-in team, not having Johnson for the rest of the season will put a damper on the Hawks’ chances of making the playoffs. It could also impact how the front office approaches the trade deadline, though the team doesn’t control its own first-round pick, which will be sent to San Antonio, and won’t be motivated to lose games.
With Johnson unavailable for the rest of the season, the Hawks figure to lean more heavily on forwards Zaccharie Risacher and De’Andre Hunter, with David Roddy and Larry Nance Jr. among the reserves who could move up the depth chart and see more regular playing time. However, as Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks tweets, there’s no one on the roster capable of stepping in and replicating what Johnson did for the club on both ends of the floor.
Atlanta won’t be eligible to apply for a disabled player exception to replace Johnson, since the deadline to request a DPE was January 15.
Johnson would have been eligible for restricted free agency this coming season if he hadn’t agreed to terms on a rookie scale extension with the Hawks just ahead of the October deadline. He signed a five-year, $150MM deal that will go into effect for the 2025/26 season.