Grizzlies' Ja Morant shut down for the season due to elbow injury

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies ruled out Ja Morant for the season because of a UCL sprain in his left elbow.

The Grizzlies said Tuesday night that Morant would need a platelet-rich plasma injection to aid with the healing. The Grizzlies expected Morant to make a full recovery in time for next season.

Morant, the 6-foot-2 guard in his seventh season out of Murray State, played in only 20 games this season for the Grizzlies. He averaged 19.5 points, the lowest since his second season in the league. The early end to the 26-year-old's season continues a trend for the oft-injured guard. He has played in only 79 games the last three seasons.

Morant sprained his elbow in late January after he had just missed two weeks because of calf soreness.

Taken second in the 2019 draft behind Zion Williamson, Morant was a nightly highlight film early in his career with the Grizzlies.

Morant challenged some of the NBA’s tallest centers with dunks at the rim and avoided defenders with whirling gyrations. His passes found cracks in defenses, and he regularly chased down blocks where he pinned the ball at the top of the square on the backboard.

Those high-flying, highlight-yielding plays earned him Rookie of the Year in 2020 and Most Improved Player in 2022.

Off-court troubles and growing behavior issues started surfacing in 2023 and diminished his impact on the court for the Grizzlies. Video in March 2023 of Morant flashing a gun at a Denver-area nightclub led to an eight-game suspension by the NBA even though no criminal charges were filed.

Months later, Morant was seen on a livestream flashing a gun, this time from the passenger seat of a car. After the league investigation, Silver announced that Morant would start the 2023-24 season with a 25-game suspension.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA