Atlanta Hawks guard Kobe Bufkin will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, the team announced Wednesday.
The surgery to address “right shoulder instability” is scheduled for Jan. 7.
The Hawks also announced that center Onyeka Okongwu will be out for the next four games due to left knee inflammation. He will be re-evaluated in about one week, the team said.
He totaled eight points and three rebounds in 19 minutes in Atlanta’s last game, a 110-102 loss at Milwaukee on Saturday.
Okongwu, who turned 24 on Dec. 11, is averaging career highs with 11.3 points and 1.4 assists, as well as 6.6 rebounds, 0.7 blocks and 23.8 minutes in 25 games as a reserve this season.
The Hawks selected Okongwu with the sixth overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft out of Southern California. For his career, he averages 8.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.1 blocks and 21.1 minutes in 258 games (36 starts).
In October, the team announced Bufkin had partially dislocated his right shoulder for the second time. He had missed summer league due to a similar injury.
His first professional season after a promising Michigan career was also interrupted by injuries including a thumb fracture and a big toe sprain that kept him out of all but 17 games.
Bufkin, 20, was the 15th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He averaged 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 10 games (zero starts) this season.
–Field Level Media
