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Memphis Grizzlies star point guard and the NBA‘s reigning 2020 Rookie of the Year recipient was seen helped off the court in a wheelchair Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
Morant, who scored seven points in 13 minutes in Brooklyn Monday, suffered the injury in the second quarter when he went to block the shot of Nets guard Timothe Luwawu-Gaborrot and came down on Luwawu-Gaborrot’s foot. In the replay, you can see Morant vividly in pain as his left ankle rolls over Ja immediately limps away from the court and to the platform located in the corner and behind the basket, where trainers ran over to help.
Breaking: Ja Morant Leaves In A Wheelchair After Suffering Left Ankle Injury
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon confirmed that Morant was unable to place any weight on the left ankle, as did the network’s Malika Andrews.
This is certainly devastating news for the Grizzlies as Morant was off to a very impressive start to his sophomore campaign. Highlighted by a career-high 44-point masterpiece, Ja was leading the Grizzlies in scoring averaging 36 points, 8 assists while shooting 58.3% from the floor.
Ja Morant Wins KIA NBA 2019-20 Rookie Of The Year Award
Morant captured the 2019-20 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year award by earning 498 total points, including 99 first-place votes (each first-place vote is worth five points). Runner-up was Miami Heat point guard Kendrick Dunn (204 points), and New Orleans Pelicans Zion Williamson finished third (140 points).
There haven’t been any updates on the severity of Morant’s injury, as of yet. Grizzlies will keep us posted following Memphis’ matchup against the Nets Monday night.
Update: Ja Morant’s X-rays Show No Fracture, Will Undergo MRI
According to ESPN’s Malika Andrews, X-rays on Morant’s ankle showed no signs of a fracture, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He’s expected to undergo an MRI Tuesday.
In Morant’s absence, the Grizzlies topped the Nets in overtime, 116-111. Memphis forward Kyle Anderson led with a team-high 28 points. Dillon Brooks also pulled down 7 rebounds to go with his 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with a double-double.
The short-handed Nets were without their superstar tandem in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving; both resting due to playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Brooklyn dropped its first loss of the regular season in Charlotte against the Hornets the night prior.
Caris LeVert’s 28 points, 11 assists helped force the game into overtime where the Grizzlies outscored Brooklyn, 10-5. Luwawu-Cabarrot added 21 points, 6 rebounds, and Joe Harris chipped in 14 points, 8 rebounds.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins addressed Morant’s injury following the win.
“So tough to see Ja go down,” Jenkins said, per ESPN. “I know he’s going to bounce back and be fine. We’ll have more updates as we’re going through, but so far so good.”
Early Tuesday morning, Morant posted a quote to his Twitter account; letting fans know his mind is in a good space, following his ankle injury.
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