Grizzlies' Morant out for season after shoulder injury

LOS ANGELES – Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant will miss the rest of the NBA season due to a shoulder injury he suffered just weeks after his return from a 25-game suspension, his team said Monday (Tuesday Manila time).

The Grizzlies said in a statement that the gifted 24-year-old point guard suffered an injury to his right shoulder during training on Saturday.

"Following ongoing soreness and instability, Morant underwent an MRI that revealed an underlying labral tear," the Grizzlies said.

"Morant will undergo season-ending surgery and is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-2025 season."

The injury comes as a hammer blow to Memphis and Morant as they attempt to turn around a season which has left them languishing in 13th place in the Western Conference with a 13-23 record.

Monday's announcement comes less than a month after Morant returned to playing on December 19th with a 34-point display in a victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Morant was suspended for the first 25 games of the season after posting images of himself brandishing firearms earlier last year.

He was issued an eight-game ban last March after a video showed him displaying a gun at a Denver nightclub, then handed the longer ban to open the 2023-24 campaign after another video of him with a gun inside a car from last May went public.

Ahead of his return last month, Morant said he had benefited from therapy and counseling that have given him a "new look on life."

"I feel like I learned some stuff about myself during that process," Morant said last month.

"Very eye-opening. Gave me a new look on life with how I go about my days, how I carry myself. Just being grateful and thankful I'm still here in the position I'm in."