Dante Exum set to miss months after brutal injury setback on eve of NBA season

Luckless Boomers star Dante Exum has suffered a horrific setback on the eve of the NBA season, with the Dallas Mavericks guard set for a lengthy stint on the sideline.

Luckless Boomers star Dante Exum has suffered a horrific setback on the eve of the NBA season, with the Dallas Mavericks guard undergoing wrist surgery which is set to sideline him long-term.

The injury, first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, suffered the injury in training camp for Dallas and is a major blow for the 29-year-old who has a checkered injury history.

Exum is expected to miss up to three months of the season, which tips off later this month.

Exum entered the league with huge expectations a decade ago, when drafted fifth by the Utah Jazz in the 2014 draft, but has had his career derailed by a series of serious injuries.

Dante Exum in action for the Dallas Mavericks. Picture: Francois Nel/Getty Images

His entire 2015-16 season was wiped out by an ACL tear suffered after his rookie season.

A serious shoulder complaint followed in 2017, leading to more surgery, while Exum has also had a partially torn patella tendon and issues with bone bruising and his ankles.

It led to Exum finding his way out of the league entirely, playing in Europe for two seasons before the Mavericks took a chance on him during the 2023 off-season – and his NBA career took off once again, albeit with a hiccup with foot and knee injuries which kept him out in January and February.

But he emerged as one of the Mavericks’ top perimeter defenders and averaged just shy of 20 minutes per game – his most since his rookie season with the Jazz.

Originally published as Dante Exum set to miss months after brutal injury setback on eve of NBA season