Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's first season with the Memphis Grizzlies is now over. After going under the knife to address a finger injury, Caldwell-Pope is reportedly done for the rest of the 2025-26 NBA campaign, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
“Grizzlies guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope underwent a surgical procedure today to address misalignment on his right link finger. He will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season and is expected to make a full recovery in advance of the 2026-27 season,” Siegel wrote in a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Caldwell-Pope, a first-round pick by the Detroit Pistons in 2013, was acquired by the Grizzlies from a trade with the Orlando Magic in 2025 — the same transaction that saw Desmond Bane go to the Eastern Conference team.
The Grizzlies are having an abysmal campaign, and they are not viewed as a threat in the NBA Playoffs, assuming that they find a way to even get there. Memphis only has 20 wins against 33 losses coming out of the NBA All-Star break, and it's just good for 11th in the Western Conference standings — outside of the play-in tournament picture.
In the 51 games Caldwell-Pope played with the Grizzlies this season, he only averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds, while shooting only 41.0 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from behind the arc. With the two-time NBA champion sidelined for the remainder of the season, the likes of Cam Spencer, Walter Clayton and Jahmai Mashack could see increased minutes on the floor, as the Grizzlies play out what is turning out to be another letdown campaign.
