Jalen Hood-Schifino has been a popular name in the NBA rookie circuit ever since he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA draft of 2023. Hood-Schifino was previously honored with the Big Ten Conference Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Year award for being the most outstanding freshman.
Hood-Schifino has time and again spoken about the Lakers’ influence on him after he was selected in the draft by the 17-time NBA championship winning team. While he was considered among the most promising youngsters to enter the Lakers, injuries have been a persistent hurdle in the players’ professional career.
Hood-Schifino’s injuries have caused the Lakers’ decision to fail
The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Jalen Hood-Schifino with the 17th pick in the 2023 NBA draft even though the team’s scouts reportedly favored Cam Whitmore, who has impressed everyone so far, having 12.1 PPG and 3.9 RPG for the Houston Rockets.
Hood-Schifino made his NBA debut for the Lakers on November 27, 2023, in a 138-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. He averages 1.6 points per game in limited minutes this season, and his performances so far have been nothing but suboptimal. Hood-Schifino’s injuries are making things look even worse for the Lakers, as now he has to sit out the rest of the 2023-24 season.
Hood-Schifino has also spent time in the NBA G League with the South Bay Lakers, which is also affiliated with the Los Angeles Lakers. While Hood-Schifino scored 22 points, 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 15 games in the G League, he is far from the player the Lakers were initially expecting him to turn out as.
Hood-Schifino sidelined for the rest of the 2023-2024 season due to injury
The Los Angeles Lakers made an official announcement on Twitter that Jalen Hood-Schifino underwent a successful lumbar microdiscectomy and any further updates on the 20-year-old rookie guard will be provided later.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin also reported that the microdiscectomy procedure involved a bulging disk in Jalen’s back being shaved and the Lakers expect Hood-Schifino to make a full recovery in the offseason.
Jalen Hood-Schifino’s recovery will be crucial for the Lakers in the next season, as he is one of the players that many analysts have said to keep an eye on for the future.
The Lakers are currently on the ninth place in the Western Conference with a record of 37-32 in the 2023-24 season. They still have 13 games left in the regular season, and need a hot winning streak if they want to qualify for the playoffs.
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