Memphis Grizzlies leading scorer Jaren Jackson Jr. suffered an apparent ankle injury during the team's game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. He went back to the locker room and the Grizzlies later reported that he was doubtful to return.

The play happened in the first quarter as he was trying to contest a Dyson Daniels layup attempt. The two became tangled on the way down with Jackson appearing to step on Daniels' foot. After initially staying in the game, Jackson eventually went back to the Memphis locker room.

This is Jackson's 59th consecutive game for the Grizzlies since he missed the first two of the season. Memphis plays again on Wednesday at home against Oklahoma City, where that streak appears in doubt.

In the immediate term, this puts the Grizzlies' depth to the test. They were already without forward Santi Aldama (12.8 points, 6.7 rebounds per game), who is nursing a calf injury.

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Coming into Monday night's game, Jackson was averaging a career-best 23.1 points per game, to go with 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He was also shooting 36.5% from three, his best mark from long range since 2019-20.

Jackson is coming off his finest offensive performance of the season, scoring 42 points against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. He did his damage on 5-8 shooting from three and 15-25 shooting overall.

Just as importantly, Jackson is one of the best defensive post players in the NBA. In fact, the Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley just passed him for the betting favorite for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Jackson had been favored after the Spurs shut down Victor Wembanyama for the remainder of the season.

With 20 games remaining in the regular season, the Grizzlies are squarely in position to rise to as high as the 2 seed in the West. Going into action on Monday, they were just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, who are in a tie for second.