Memphis Grizzlies All-Star guard Ja Morant suffered a sprained left ankle during the team's practice on Sunday and will now be sidelined just two weeks before the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, according to Grizzlies reporter Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal.
Morant is considered week-to-week, but the team has not officially announced how severe this ankle sprain is. He is likely undergoing further tests and images to reveal the extent of the injury.
It is unknown at this time if Morant will miss the team's season opener on October 22 against the New Orleans Pelicans, but he is likely to miss most, if not all, of the preseason. Once again, Morant enters a new NBA season with some sort of injury and ailment.
This has been a problem for the Grizzlies' star throughout the years, and it has led to some underwhelming seasons in Memphis. Morant has missed 126 total games over the last three seasons, a span in which Memphis has gone 126-120 and missed the playoffs during the 2023-24 season.
Last year, Morant missed 32 total games because of multiple injuries, yet he still managed to average 23.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Should Morant be forced to miss time to begin the new 2025-26 NBA season, then head coach Tuomas Iisalo will have no choice but to turn to Scotty Pippen Jr. and Ty Jerome, who signed a three-year, $28 million contract with the team after finishing as a finalist for the 2024-25 Sixth Man of the Year award with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Grizzlies cannot catch a break when it comes to injuries.
Entering the new season, Memphis will already be without three key weapons in Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey, and Brandon Clarke. Whereas Edey and Clarke are weeks away from returning from ankle and knee injuries, respectively, Jackson should be back on the court and ramping up his basketball activities before the end of October.
The only good news on the Grizzlies' injury front is that rookie first-round pick Cedric Coward has been cleared from a shoulder injury he suffered in November and had surgery on.
If Morant is to join his three teammates on the sideline to begin the new season, the Grizzlies will be very short-handed with a new-looking roster. After all, Memphis no longer has Desmond Bane to lean on as their third star alongside Jackson and Morant, as he was traded to the Orlando Magic this offseason.
Without Morant, both Pippen and Jerome would hold key roles entering the year for the Grizzlies, along with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, John Konchar, and Santi Aldama leading the team.
The Grizzlies will soon provide an official update on Morant's health and a timeline for his return from this ankle injury.
