Tyler Ulis has ankle surgery; out for NBA Summer League

Former Kentucky Wildcats star and current Suns guard Tyler Ulis underwent surgery on his right ankle on Wednesday.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley in New York City, and Ulis is expected to return to full basketball activity in approximately 12 weeks. That means we won’t be seeing Ulis in the NBA Summer League, but we’ll hopefully see him at the start of the NBA regular season.

If he’s out 12 weeks, that puts his return around mid-to-late August, so he may not even miss preseason action. He figures to be one of Phoenix’s starting guards next season after having a fantastic rookie season.

Ulis averaged 7.3 points and 3.7 assists in 61 games in his first season with the Suns in 2016-17. In March, Ulis averaged 11.9 points, 7.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.8 rebounds per game.

But in April, Ulis exploded for 20.7 points per game to go with 3.8 boards and 6.8 assists. That included a 34-point outburst vs the Rockets on April 2nd. He finished his rookie season scoring in double figures in nine straight games and 14 of his last 16 games. Ulis’ big month earned him NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors for April.

The former Cat has a very bright future ahead of him along with Devin Booker and Eric Bledsoe in the Suns’ backcourt. Brandon Knight is also there, but it looks like he’ll get moved at some point this offseason.

Regardless, Ulis has a bright future ahead of him, so hopefully this surgery is nothing more than a minor setback.