Brice Sensabaugh looks set to be back in the mix for the Utah Jazz just in time for the stretch that matters.
After sitting out the team’s first two preseason games against the Denver Nuggets with a hip injury, the fourth-year wing said Friday that the issue is no longer a concern. Sensabaugh described the absence as precautionary and said the injury is “all the way gone.”
"I'm doing good," Sensabaugh said of his hip injury. "It was more of an over-precautionary thing.
Just trying to make sure. It's kind of like a muscle thing.
So, I just don't want to make it any worse. It's all the way gone now.
So I'm feeling good."
"Practiced today. Got two good practices.
During those preseason games, I was just ramping up. So yeah, I'm feeling good.
Took the right steps."
That’s welcome news for Utah after a rough early preseason stretch that also included word that center Jusuf Nurkic will miss over four weeks with a toe injury suffered in preseason. Sensabaugh’s situation never sounded nearly as severe, but with the regular season less than two weeks away, the Jazz can’t afford to keep stacking up absences from rotation players.
Sensabaugh is coming off the best season of his career. Last year, he averaged 14.9 points while shooting 46.0% from the field, along with 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists. This season, he’s expected to take on a smaller scoring load than he had in 2025-26, but he still projects as one of Utah’s key bench scoring options.
Even while sidelined, Sensabaugh was paying attention to what the Jazz were showing in those first two preseason outings. His read: this group looks very different.
"I noticed we look a lot different," Sensabaugh said about what he noticed while sideliend. "We're a much different team.
We’ve got a lot of size. Feel like we're starting games a lot better now.
We've had two great first quarters, and I think now it's really just been trying to mesh well with our plays and stuff, our early offense."
"I think we're doing pretty good on defense so far. Obviously, we’ve got to get better.
But I think the chemistry and early offense, second-side offense, stuff like that, we're still working on. So, I think we're making pretty good progress.
Utah’s preseason has carried a more optimistic feel, inside and outside the building, with expectations pointing toward a much stronger 2026-27 campaign. Sensabaugh’s return would only add to that momentum.
The Jazz’s next chance to get him back on the floor comes Monday, October 12th, when the San Antonio Spurs visit the Delta Center. It’ll be a useful test for Utah before the regular season gets underway.
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