The Memphis Grizzlies are prepared to enter the 2025-26 NBA season without several key contributors. As a result of offseason surgeries and recent injuries, Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey, and Brandon Clarke will all miss the start of the new season, the Grizzlies announced on Friday afternoon.
Jackson, a two-time All-Star and the 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, underwent a procedure in July to address a turf toe injury in his right foot. Originally, the team announced that he would be re-evaluated in 12 weeks.
The Grizzlies are now saying Jackson will return to play in four to six weeks after being cleared to ramp up his basketball activities.
Last season, Jackson earned All-Star honors for the second time in his career and was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team, his third overall All-Defensive honor. In 74 games, all of which he started, Jackson averaged 22.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from 3-point range.
He was the only player in the league to score at least 1,500 total points and record over 100 blocks.
This offseason, Jackson signed a max contract extension worth $240 million over five years to be a focal point of the Grizzlies' roster alongside All-Star guard Ja Morant for the foreseeable future.
Edey, who underwent surgery to address the laxity in his left ankle on June 7, has also been cleared to ramp up his basketball activities. The bad news is that the second-year center is still six to nine weeks away from returning to play.
In his rookie season, Edey averaged 9.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 58.0 percent from the floor. The Grizzlies are enamoured by Edey's towering 7-foot-4 frame and his ability to play alongside Jackson, creating one of the longest frontcourt duos in the league.
Clarke, who has fully healed from a high-grade right PCL sprain that ended his 2024-25 campaign, will undergo a new procedure as a result of experiencing right knee synovitis this offseason. His return-to-play timeline will be updated by the team at a later time, and he is expected to make a full recovery.
Over the last three seasons, Clarke has missed 120 total games due to multiple injuries. He missed 76 games during the 2023-24 season as a result of a torn left Achilles tendon he suffered the season prior.
All three of these injuries will play a key role in how first-year head coach Tuomas Iisalo utilizes his roster to begin the 2025-26 season.
The good news for Memphis is that Cedric Coward, the 11th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is expected to be a full participant in training camp following the completion of his rehab for a left shoulder injury he sustained in November 2024 and underwent surgery for.
The 2025-26 season is already off to a rough start for the Grizzlies, as Santi Aldama and Jock Landale are left as the team's only healthy options in the frontcourt. While Morant will be available, Memphis has a new look after trading key swingman Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic in June.
Iisalo and the Grizzlies will have their work cut out for them when their new season begins on October 22 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
