After being suspended for 25 games due to his controversial off-court activities last season, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant returned and gave his team a much-needed spark to put some hope back into this season.
Now, that spark is out until at least next season.
The Grizzlies announced the superstar guard would have season-ending surgery due to a shoulder injury.
“At Saturday’s training session, Morant suffered a subluxation of his right shoulder. Following ongoing soreness and instability, Morant underwent an MRI that revealed an underlying labral tear.
“Morant will undergo season-ending surgery and is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-25 season.”
CBS Sports reported that the team was 6-3 with Morant back in the lineup
after starting the season with a dismal 6-19 record (including 1-11 at home) during his suspension.Despite the layoff, Morant’s play was stellar. He averaged 25.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.6 rebounds before this bad news arrived. The team is currently 13-23, so it is unlikely that it will make the playoffs.
Last June, the NBA suspended the All-Star guard for the first 25 games of the 2023–24 season after he was captured on social media with a firearm in his hand.
It was the second such incident after he was initially suspended for eight games in March following an incident where he was seen with a gun on an Instagram Live video at a Denver nightclub after a game against the Nuggets. Morant received his latest suspension after he was seen on a friend’s Instagram feed holding what appeared to be a gun a month before the suspension was given.
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