Jalen Johnson has been dealing with a nagging shoulder injury all season and, after being called “out indefinitely” earlier this week, NBA Insider Chris Haynes is reporting Wednesday that Johnson has been diagnosed with a torn labrum and will miss the rest of the season. ESPN’s Shams Charania later confirmed Haynes’ report.
After inking a five-year, $150 million contract extension with the Hawks this offseason, Johnson was living up to the big pay day and having the best season of his career, averaging 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, all of which are career-highs for the forward. Johnson is leading the Hawks in net rating this season and he would have been a serious contender for his first All-Star selection if he didn’t get hurt.
Losing Johnson for the season is massive blow for a Hawks team that has dropped to the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta is 4-7 with Johnson inactive this season and the Hawks missing the playoffs feels likely in the wake of this brutal news.
With Johnson sidelined, Onyeka Okongwu will continue to see a huge role as the Hawks’ primary big man and both Trae Young and De’Andre Hunter should attempt to pick up the slack in the scoring department. With Johnson inactive this season, Hunter’s usage has jumped 4.2 percentage points to a team-high 29.3%.
