Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who had season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in January, took to social media on Tuesday to update his injury status.
it’s GO t:me
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) July 9, 2024
The above is Morant's way of announcing that he's been medically cleared to resume all basketball-related activities, per Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commerical Appeal.
"I hate being around basketball and not being able to play, man," Morant told reporters at his annual basketball camp in Memphis on June 23. "I don't got too much longer, I can wait to make sure I'm able to play and be cleared when the season comes."
Morant barely played during the 2023-24 season. After serving a 25-game suspension for multiple instances of brandishing a gun on Instagram Live, he returned to play nine games, in which he averaged 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.1 assists. He then tore his labrum in practice, and that was it.
The Grizzlies went 6-3 with their franchise player in the lineup, but injuries -- to Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart -- doomed them to a 27-55 record. Between Morant's suspension and the October announcement that the since-traded Steven Adams would be out for the year, Memphis' season was derailed before it even started.
At that camp, Morant told reporters that he was "excited to see what happens" when the Grizzlies picked ninth in the NBA Draft. They ended up selecting 7-foot-5 center Zach Edey, who had an excellent summer-league debut on Monday. During the game, Morant reposted a video of Edey screening a teammate open and seemed pleased when the big man forced overtime by tipping in a missed free throw at the buzzer:
ayeeeeeee zach 😂💪🏾
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) July 9, 2024
With Edey in the middle, better injury luck across the board and, most importantly, Morant back to run the show, Memphis expects to be in the playoff mix in the West next season.
