Former Duke Basketball Forward Set for Season-Ending Surgery
![Former Duke basketball forward Jalen Johnson Former Duke basketball forward Jalen Johnson](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5367,h_3018,x_0,y_95/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/blue_devil_country/01jjssr28jrew9jvpjb1.jpg)
Atlanta Hawks starting forward and 2020-21 Duke basketball one-and-done Jalen Johnson will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a left shoulder injury, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Wednesday morning.
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Johnson, one of two dozen Blue Devils currently in the NBA, sustained the injury while attempting to block a shot in the early going of the team's 122-119 home loss to the Toronto Raptors last week, forcing the 23-year-old Wisconsin native to sit out Atlanta's past three outings.
And in Johnson's absence, the Hawks (22-25), coached by late-1980s Duke basketball guard and 1990s Blue Devil assistant Quin Snyder, have seen their losing streak grow to six games.
The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Jalen Johnson, who heard his name No. 20 overall at the 2021 NBA Draft after packing up and leaving the 2020-21 Blue Devils in February of Duke's subpar season, now sees his fourth year as an ever-improving professional come to an unfortunate end after posting career-high averages of 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game.
Across 36 appearances, he shot 50.0 percent from the field, 31.2 percent beyond the arc, and 74.6 percent at the foul line.
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