Grizzlies Announce Ja Morant Out for Season With Elbow Injury, Ending Another Disappointing Year

Another disappointing season for Ja Morant has officially come to a close.

On Tuesday night the Grizzlies announced the former All-Star point guard would miss the remainder of the season with an elbow sprain. Morant hasn’t suited up for Memphis since January 21 with the injury. Per the team’s announcement, Morant had been experiencing lingering discomfort and an injection was recommended to further along the healing process. He will miss the rest of the year as a result.

Morant, 26, played in only 20 games this season. He averaged 19.5 points and 8.1 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. But yet again his season was disrupted by poor decision-making. Morant was suspended for a game by his own team over a confrontation with first-year coach Tuomas Iisalo. It marked the third suspension of the point guard’s career; the first two were due to gun-related incidents off the court.

Morant’s name was brought up in trade rumors this year as the Grizzlies explored the trade market for the former rising star. However, he stayed with Memphis despite the franchise shipping out former running mates Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. within the last 12 months. With Morant sidelined the team is plummeting down the West standings and entered Tuesday with a 24–47 record.

Another season ends in disappointment for Morant

Morant put forth another enormous let-down of a campaign this season.

The high-flying point guard is one of the most exciting players in basketball when he is healthy and playing with focus, capable of dunking from anywhere, on anyone. But the last few years have been brutal for Morant injury-wise and his play on the court has suffered as a result. He played in only 50 games last year and nine the year prior; he hasn’t played anywhere close to a full NBA season since his rookie year. It’s particularly detrimental to the Grizzlies given Morant is in the third year of a $197 million max contract extension with two years still to go.

Morant is slated to make over $40 million next season, a ludicrous number for a consistently unavilable player—especially one who hasn’t played at an All-Star level in his few appearances on the court. Given Memphis is pivoting to the future by tanking this season it seems all but certain the organization will explore trading Morant again this summer. It will be a tough sell to get another team to give up assets for Morant on that contract, though.

It truly has been a bummer of a few years for Morant. Hopefully good health will await him next season; the Grizzlies say he’s expected to make a full recovery for the 2026–27 campaign.

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