Former NBA Defensive Player of the Year already dealing with big injury concern
Feb 5, 2020; Dallas, Texas, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The 2024-25 season may already be feeling like Groundhog Day for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins revealed to reporters on Tuesday that big man Jaren Jackson Jr. felt tightness in his hamstring during the first practice of training camp, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Jenkins added that Jackson will get imaging and that the Grizzlies are anticipating that he may have suffered a hamstring strain.
The 25-year-old Jackson was an All-Star in 2023 and also won Defensive Player of the Year that season, leading the NBA in blocks with 3.0 per game. But he missed 16 games last season because of hip, quad, and knee injuries. That was the theme all year for Memphis, who lost 578 total games to injury last season (an all-time NBA record), which resulted in some absolutely wild lineups at times.
If Jackson did indeed suffer a strain, his timeline will obviously depend on the severity of the strain. But that is definitely not good news for a player known for his explosiveness at the rim and his agility on the perimeter, especially with the Grizzlies set to start the new season in roughly three weeks on Oct. 23.
