Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs is dealing with multiple difficulties at once that have not made the new year start off well on the basketball court for the 24-year-old.
It has not been an easy week for Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs.
After a drive to the basket against Chicago Bulls forward Jalen Smith ended up with Smith and Suggs crashing to the floor in Orlando’s Friday night loss to Chicago, Suggs exited the game and was later deemed to have a right knee Grade 1 MCL contusion. The game against the Bulls was only Suggs’ second after returning from a lift hip contusion that left him sidelined for seven games. Now, it is unclear when he returns.
Suggs dealt with another — albeit less serious — blow when the NBA banned him from continuing his signature look of having his headband around his neck. During Friday’s game against Chicago, Magic sideline reporter Kendra Douglas said that Suggs revealed the league informed him "the headband needs to be on the head at tipoff.”
“The 24-year-old has a habit of starting games with the cloth band around his neck, rather than across his forehead,” The Athletic wrote. “Suggs, the No. 2 football recruit in the state of Minnesota in 2020 (per 247 Sports), told reporters the practice began on the gridiron.”
“Really, it originates as football drip; that’s where it stems from,” Suggs said. “I don’t know, there really isn’t much else to it. I wear it on my neck, and once I get into the game, into the flow, I put it on my head, and we rock.”
As The Athletic also reported, this is not the first time the NBA has taken measures against a style of headband.
“In 2019, the league barred “ninja-style” tie headbands due to safety concerns. Stars like Jimmy Butler and De’Aaron Fox popularized headbands that are manually tied around players’ heads. The fashion statement had not cleared the league approval process, according to NBA spokesperson Mike Bass.”
“When some players began wearing them last season, we didn’t want to cause a disruption by intervening midseason,” Bass told ESPN at the time. “We notified our teams in May that they would not be part of this season’s uniforms.”
When healthy, Suggs has been a key player for his team. In 23 games, he is averaging 15 points, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals. However, another setback has left Suggs frustrated after he worked tirelessly in the offseason to recover from arthroscopic knee surgery that cut his 2024-25 campaign short.
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