Dante Exum used frustration as fuel during recent rehab

SALT LAKE CITY — Dante Exum thought he could get back in two weeks. Then it was three. Then four. And then the weeks turned into months.

It’s been over two months since Exum suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 5 — an injury that came with an accompanying bone bruise and has kept him sidelined for the last 25 games.

But the waiting is finally over. Exum returned to the court Monday against Oklahoma City.

“I was trying to get back every week to play, it just didn’t allow it,” Exum said. “That was just how the injury went."

And, unfortunately, that’s kind of how his career has gone, too. This wasn’t the first time the former No. 5 pick has been injured. Not by a long shot. In his short five-year career, he's already missed nearly two full seasons with an ACL tear and a shoulder injury — and has had a couple more along the way, too.

So it’s no surprise there was some frustration as Exum had to continue to sit and sit and sit with the ankle sprain — especially since he was playing possibly the best basketball of his career at the time the injury.

In the last 12 games he played, Exum averaged 9.1 points, 4.3 assists in 18.1 minutes and helped stabilize what had been a shakey Utah bench unit.

“What’s happened over the last month is Dante has established himself," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said two days after Exum went down. "There’s a level of establishment. But what he has done of the last month, his game has taken a step and he has taken a step.”

There was a reason Exum thought he would be back sooner than later — the Jazz were hopeful he would be. And the unexpected waiting game only added to the frustration.

“I get frustrated all the time,” Exum said. “You can talk to the medical staff. Some days I come in and I'm like beating my head against the wall."

He did that because he wanted to be healthy. He wanted to practice. He wanted to play.

But he used that frustration as fuel during his rehab. Especially when he went from treatments straight to the weight room — where he could watch his teammates practice without him.

“That’s when it hits me that I’m not practicing,” Exum said. “But it’s why I got to be in there working so I can be out there.”

Now back, Exum is hoping he will be the same player he was before his injury. And that's something the Jazz certainly could use after suffering a recent slide — losing two of their last three games (both to non-playoff teams) heading into Monday’s contest.

“It’s good to see him,” Jae Crowder said. “He can definitely help us win games at a high level.”

And how Exum has handled the frustrations of yet another injury in his young career has impressed his coach.

“You can’t help have moments that you feel that way,” Snyder said. “I think he’s done a good job of recognizing that and responding. … That’s when you dig and that’s what he’s done.”

The results just took a little longer than he had hoped.

"I’m very excited," Exum said. "I’ve been waiting for this for a while. Obviously, I hate being injured."

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