The Utah Jazz’s Iron Man finally needed a night off.
Forward Joe Ingles had played through plenty of bumps and bruises, soreness and fatigue, sprains and even a bloodied head over the course of the last 418 games (384 regular-season contests) — the league’s longest consecutive games played streak. But that streak came to an end Friday night in Milwaukee, as Ingles dealt with an Achilles injury that kept him out of action.
“I know he’d be playing if he could,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. “There have been a lot of times he’s played through pain and probably injuries he hasn’t told us about.”
For Ingles, the streak has been about helping his team win, not about the streak itself.
“I don’t really care, to be honest,” he said in February of 2019. “It’s not like I’m preparing each week to keep the streak going. I don’t even know what it is, to be honest.”
Ingles had not missed a game since Dec. 16, 2015.
“It makes you pause for a second and reflect on what a streak of consecutive games like that means and what it says about Joe, his toughness, his commitment and the type of teammate he is,” Snyder said. “You pause and reflect for a second and you understand why you respect him like you do.”
Ingles’ streak was the longest by a Jazzman since John Stockton played in 442 straight games from 1997 to 2003.
Former Lakers great A.C. Green holds the NBA’s all-time record for consecutive regular season games played. Green played in 1,192 straight regular season games over a 14-plus year span.
Ingles is averaging 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game so far this season, his seventh with the Jazz. He was listed on the injury report Friday as having soreness in his right Achilles.
“You miss a player like Joe in the short run, but he’ll be back,” Snyder said. “He’s just got to get healthy. We’ll try to do what we can to make up for not having him.”
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