By ISABEL BALDWIN, US ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Published: 11:51 EST, 24 February 2026 | Updated: 11:54 EST, 24 February 2026
The Utah Jazz have lost another star player with Jusuf Nurkic ruled out for the remainder of the NBA season.
The 31-year-old is set to undergo season-ending surgery on his nose on Tuesday, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
The center reportedly has suffered with complications with breathing and sleeping since fracturing his nose several years ago.
Jazz coach Will Hardy said before Monday's game against Houston that Nurkic has needed the procedure for a while.
'He has had a really bad deviated septum in his nose,' Hardy said. 'He has gotten hit in the face four or five times this year. His recent sickness has pushed that forward. It's something that he's needed to get done for a while now, so he's going to get it taken care of.'
Nurkic's procedure and subsequent absence comes as a blow for the Jazz with the Bosnian seeing a recent uptick in performance.
Utah Jazz star Jusuf Nurkic (right) ruled out for the remainder of the NBA season
The 31-year-old is set to undergo season-ending surgery on his nose this week
Nurkic has averaged 10.9 points and 10.4 rebounds a game while shooting 50.3 percent from the field this season.
'Nurk has been a big part of what we've done this year, and he helps our team in a bunch of ways,' Hardy said.
He only joined Utah ahead of this season, following stints with the Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Suns and Hornets, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
The 2025-26 season marks the last of a four-year, $70 million contract that he originally signed with the Trail Blazers in 2022.
Nurkic's injury is just the latest in a series for the Jazz, who also recently lost Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jackson Jr. recently underwent knee surgery to deal with a non-cancerous growth. Meanwhile, the team has been without Walker Kessler since November when he tore his labrum.
The Jazz's growing injury list has raised suspicions with the team finding itself at the center of tanking allegations.
Jaren Jackson Jr. was benched late in two games this month, which the NBA took issue with
Commissioner Adam Silver said this behavior 'undermines the foundation of NBA competition'
The NBA fined the Jazz $500,000 for a violation of the league’s player participation policy earlier this month.
The penalty stemmed from instances on February 7 and 9 when the NBA claimed that the team displayed 'conduct detrimental to the league'.
Against both the Orlando Magic on February 7 and the Miami Heat on February 9, Jazz coach Hardy decided to sub out key forwards Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr.
As the league claimed in its statement, those players 'were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt.'
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