Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant will undergo season-ending surgery after sustaining a subluxation of his right shoulder at a training session Saturday, the team announced Monday night.
“Following ongoing soreness and instability, Morant underwent an MRI that revealed an underlying labral tear,” the Grizzlies said in a statement Monday.
Morant is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 24-year-old averaged 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.1 assists over nine games before the injury. Returning from a 25-game suspension for multiple instances of brandishing a gun, Morant led the Grizzlies to a 3-0 showing in his first three games of the season and earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors for Dec. 18 to 24.
Memphis sits 13th in Western Conference standings at 13-23.
What Morant’s absence means for the Grizzlies
It’s been blow after blow after blow for this veteran, resilient Grizzlies team. Morant’s return had ignited the franchise, winning seven of the past 11 games since his Dec. 19 debut (6-3 with Morant), with the All-Star guard seamlessly finding his footing despite missing the first 25 games of the season due to suspension. Between Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis had all the tools to mount a second half surge up the Western Conference standings. But with Morant now being shelved for the remainder of the year — joining starting center Steven Adams with season-ending surgery — the Grizzlies are now essentially forced to face a sobering reality, one that points towards next season.
The playoff, or even Play-In calculus was always going to be a rather difficult equation for the Grizzlies, needing to have a near-perfect finish over the final 46 regular season games to even give them a puncher’s chance at dancing. Even with Morant’s return, there were still questions that remained unanswered, particularly with Memphis’ roster depth at the wings and in the frontcourt. The returns of Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard, as uplifting as they might be for coach Taylor Jenkins, simply aren’t enough to paper over the cracks of a Morant-less Grizzlies team. This is still a talented enough unit to catch contenders slipping, with Bane and Jackson once again stepping into elevated roles, but without the heart and soul of this organization, the Grizzlies are better served consolidating and looking ahead to the 2024-25 season. — Kelly Iko, NBA staff writer
Required reading
(Photo: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
Source link
credite