Grizzlies announce Ja Morant to miss rest of season after left elbow injection

On Tuesday, the Memphis Grizzlies announced Ja Morant would miss the rest of the regular season due to an injection for his injured left elbow. Morant will finish the season with only 20 games played, marking the second-fewest of his seven-year NBA career. He made a career-low nine appearances during the 2023-24 season. Morant’s most recent appearance came during a Jan. 21, 124-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, during which he recorded 23 points, 12 assists and three blocks in 30 minutes

The premature ending to Morant’s season continues a morbid trend for the 26-year-old.

Since his most recent All-Star bid during the 2022-23 season, Morant has appeared in only 79 total games for the Grizzlies, who entertained trade offers for 2020 Rookie of the Year before deciding to keep him on the roster.

For the season, Morant averaged 19.5 points per game while sporting the worst efficiency of his career. He shot a career-low 41.0 percent overall and made only 23.5 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Even worse than Morant’s production was his lacking impact. Across his 569 minutes on the court, the Grizzlies had a net rating of minus-4.4 compared to a mark of minus-3.7 when he’s sat, according to NBA.com.

Once respected as one of the league’s most athletic and intimidating finishers, Morant struggled to make an impact for Memphis when trying to finish at the rim. He shot a career-worst 47.3 percent on 2s this season after making 51.9 percent of those looks during his first six years as a pro, per Stathead. In the last three seasons, Morant has totaled 32 made dunks after averaging 52 during his first four NBA seasons.

The Grizzlies will miss the playoffs for the second time in three years but own their first-round pick in what’s expected to be a loaded 2026 NBA Draft. It remains to be seen what role — if any — Morant will play in Memphis’ basketball future, especially given his pattern for suspensions in conjunction with his recent subpar play. He has two seasons remaining on a five-year, $197.2 million contract extension he signed in July 2022. He’s slated to make $42.2 million next season and will take home $44.9 million for the 2027-28 season before he’s projected to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2028, according to Spotrac.

Since drafting Morant second overall in 2019, the Grizzlies rank 15th in overall win percentage, but they fall to 23rd in this category since Morant’s most recent All-Star appearance.