Memphis Grizzlies rookie point guard Ja Morant played with a fractured thumb in the last four seeding games at Disney World.
The Grizzlies lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first-ever NBA play-in game on Saturday. Morant revealed the status of his thumb with reporters after putting up 35 points, four rebounds and eight assists in 42 minutes against the Blazers, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Ja Morant played great down in Orlando, although his perimeter shot was a weak point. Perhaps the thumb injury played a part in that, though.
The Grizzlies have a bright future with Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. leading the way. The team may have clinched the No. 8 seed instead of Portland had Jackson Jr. not suffered a season-ending injury. He tore his meniscus earlier in the bubble.
Morant will likely win the 2020 Rookie of the Year Award. The Grizzlies weren't picked to even come near to making the playoffs this season and Morant came so close to guiding the team to the eighth seed.
Morant entered Saturday averaging 17.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game on the 2019-20 season. The Grizzlies are fortunate to have Ja be the new face of the franchise in the post-Mike Conley/Marc Gasol era. Morant appears to have everything it takes to be an organizational cornerstone for the next decade.