Mo Bamba has traveled a long basketball journey since being a highly hyped high school recruit, and most stops along the way, it has felt like he hasn’t come that close to living up to the expectations.
The Sheck Wes song where the title is simply Bamba’s name likely didn’t help his cause, either. More people knew about the song than knew about the basketball player.
Bamba, though, could be about to find himself in quite an important scenario.
On Monday night, his Utah Jazz lost both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen to injuries. At least one of them, if not both, could be quite problematic.
That meant Bamba was called upon. And in an unexpected, extended stint, Bamba was fantastic.
Mo Bamba Stats
No one would’ve expected Bamba to play 29 minutes on Monday night, but Markkanen left after just six minutes and Jackson after just 10, so Bamba got extended run.
The big fella scored 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting. He didn’t push the limits on anything too complicated, and that allowed him to score consistently inside.
Bamba grabbed seven rebounds and had one assist with one turnover.
The other big impact came defensively — Bamba blocked four shots.
He was a plus-11 overall in a game the Jazz lost by five points to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Jazz used Bamba for more minutes off their bench than anyone else, showing that he’ll likely be a key choice in the frontcourt for them if their stars do miss time.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Injury Update
Jackson appeared to hurt his knee in a collision with Ty Jerome.
A postgame video of Jazz coach Will Hardy on the sideline appears to show him telling the Grizzlies’ coach, “I think Jaren tore something.”
That’s certainly not a good outcome, no matter what it is. Any kind of ligament tear in Jackson’s knee would keep him out for a while.
Lauri Markkanen Injury Update
Markkanen got caught up in a screen during the first half and left the game injured.
It appeared he had gotten his right wrist jammed between him and the defensive player. The quick exit and lack of return certainly suggests that he did something negative there.
Hardy said after the game to reporters that the Jazz would be getting MRIs for the two players to see what would come next.
In the meantime, Bamba may have to continue playing a bigger role than expected for Utah.
Jazz’s Mo Bamba Surprises After Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanan Injury Updates