The Memphis Grizzlies were already plagued by injuries before the season started, and now they’ve lost another key player.
The Memphis Grizzlies may be in the toughest position of any team entering the 2025-26 NBA season. Many of their big names will be unavailable to start the season.
The Grizzlies nearly lost Jaren Jackson Jr. to injury early in the offseason, but the star returned to the team in the preseason.
But just six days after Ja Morant said he wanted to play in all 82 games next season, tragedy struck again for the Grizzlies.
Morant suffered an ankle injury during the preseason and was sidelined. As if losing two of their best players wasn’t bad enough, another major star went down with an injury.
The Memphis Grizzlies will be without Scottie Pippen Jr. before the start of the season as he is scheduled to undergo surgery on his left big toe.
The prognosis is that he will miss the first 12 weeks of the season pending re-evaluation by the team’s medical staff.
Memphis Grizzlies fans were understandably upset when this news broke. One distraught fan asked: “Really, how is this possible?”
Another Grizzlies fan predicted this season, “It looks like we’ll get two lottery picks next season,” based on these injuries.
One Grizzlies supporter looked to another star on the team to fill this gap, writing, “John Conchar, save us!”
Meanwhile, another fan wondered if there was an issue within the team, pointing out, “There’s always an injury problem with the Grizzlies.”
The Grizzlies will have to have a haphazard starting lineup to start the season. Things aren’t looking too good with Morant and Pippen Jr. suffering serious injuries.
Combined with the departure of Desmond Bane in a trade to the Orlando Magic, the Grizzlies lost almost their entire starting lineup from last season.
The Grizzlies won’t be able to start the NBA season with a win like they did last year, with many notable players either sidelined or sidelined with injuries.
In fact, considering the current situation, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Grizzlies finished the season as one of the worst-performing teams in the NBA.