Atlanta Hawks Veteran Center, Larry Nance Jr, Out Indefinitely After Undergoing Surgery To Rehab Hand Fracture

The Hawks will be without one of their most reliable veterans for an extended period of time as he recovers from a significant hand injury.

Dec 26, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) steals the ball from Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Earlier today, the Atlanta Hawks announced that Larry Nance Jr will undergo surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand. Per the team, the injury occured during the recent Heat game and likely contributed to Nance being held out of the Toronto Raptors game shortly thereafter.

An @emoryhealthcare injury report:

Larry Nance Jr. sustained a right hand injury during Saturday’s game vs. Miami at State Farm Arena. Imaging has confirmed a fractured fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand. He will undergo surgery on Thursday, Jan. 2 to repair the fracture.… pic.twitter.com/sLdzjzAszo

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 30, 2024

Again, the team reported that Nance fractured the fourth metacarpal bone of his right hand. If the sugery is scheduled to happen on January 2nd, that means the Hawks will not provide an update on Nance's status until after the Nuggets game on January 1st. In short, Nance is confirmed to miss the upcoming game and will likely be held out of multiple games after that.

Although it's hard to definitively say how long Nance will be out for, there is some precedent for metacarpal fractures as they are one of the more common NBA injuries. For example, Celtics center Aron Baynes fractured his fourth metacarpal during the 2018-19 season, underwent surgery and missed about a month of game action. It would be reasonable to expect Nance's absence to be somewhere around that, but again, it is difficult to say with certainty.

In terms of how this affects the Hawks, Nance is an underrated part of the Hawks having one of the strongest bench units in the NBA. This season, the backup big man is averaging 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds to go with 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals. However, his efficiency is the real key to his utility. Nance is hitting these numbers on 58.5/52.0/87.5 shooting splits. He's very nearly in contention for a 50-40-90 season despite his inconsistent playing time. It's a nice summary of his ability to consistently do the little things well - hustle on defense, get rebounds and hit open threes - and it's what makes him a valuable presence in the rotation. Look no further than his 19-point, 10-rebound effort in the win over the Celtics. He does not always play a massive amount of minutes, but it's difficult to dismiss his impact.

In the wake of his injury, this likely opens up even more responsibilities being placed on the shoulders of Onyeka Okongwu. That could be a problem for the Hawks. Okongwu has struggled to stay healthy this year. Fortunately, he returned to the lineup against the Raptors and put up a solid 15 points on good efficiency. However, if he has to miss an extended stretch of time, the Hawks would be reliant on Cody Zeller, who has been away from the team all year. It goes without saying that an injury to Atlanta's starter, Clint Capela, would be extremely dire for the team's depth.

If Nance is able to return to the lineup before the trade deadline, the Hawks will likely not be in heavy pursuit of center depth. It's also possible they could add a veteran through the buyout market after the trade deadline. Ultimately, I would not expect the injury to significantly alter Atlanta's plans at the deadline.

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