Going into the 2017-18 Utah Jazz season, hopes were high that Dante Exum would finally get a major opportunity to shine and thrive in said opportunity. He was coming off a less than exhilarating 2016-17 campaign, had been challenged by Dennis Lindsey and Quin Snyder to elevate his game to another level and appeared absolutely electric in Summer League and preseason.
Then disaster struck. Exum suffered a serious shoulder injury during a preseason contest against the Phoenix Suns that would sideline him for nearly the entire year. When he did come back to action, he had limited opportunities as he worked to shake off the dust and get back into NBA shape.