Four months after undergoing surgery to repair his left fifth metatarsal bone, Hawks 2024 second-round pick Nikola Djurisic returned to the court on Tuesday. Djurisic made his debut with the College Park Skyhawks, the NBA’s G League affiliate of the Hawks.
The Hawks made a series of moves on the second night of the 2024 NBA Draft that eventually netted them Djurisic with the 43rd overall pick. They planned to mull over all of their options when it came to the 20-year-old wing including signing him to a guaranteed deal, a two-way contract or stashing him overseas to give him time to develop.
Djurisic played in the Summer League in Las Vegas on July 14 but sustained the left foot fracture less than seven minutes into the game. He had surgery to repair his left fifth metatarsal bone on July 22, sidelining him for the rest of the summer.
The Hawks ultimately did not have enough roster spots to sign Djurisic after taking on several players in a trade with the Pelicans and they’d already signed the maximum three players allowed to two-way contracts. But, Djurisic opted to remain within the Hawks system and signed a contract with the Skyhawks.
In his debut Tuesday, Djurisic scored five points, had two rebounds and dished one assist, scoring his first basket with 10:28 to play in the second quarter against the Long Island Nets. He played just 11 minutes, with the Skyhawks keeping him on a strict minutes restriction in his return to action for the first time in four months.
But he looked more comfortable the longer he played.
The Skyhawks return to the court on Dec. 2 against the Maine Celtics, the G league affiliate of the defending NBA champion Celtics.
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