Trail Blazers' Ja Morant ruled out of loss to Grizzlies with hamstring injury

Ja Morant's first meeting with his former team as a Portland Trail Blazer came to an early end, after the guard exited the game with a left hamstring injury.

Halfway through the fourth quarter of Thursday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Morant appeared to grab at his left hamstring after a few back-and-forth plays. He went to the bench shortly afterward and had his leg checked out on the sideline.

The 27-year-old point guard was officially ruled out by the team later in the quarter. The severity of the injury is unclear.

Morant was set up for an early meeting with his old team, just four months after the blockbuster trade that sent Morant to Portland . But the Grizzlies got the last laugh in the end, picking up a 124-103 win in Portland's Moda Center.

Prior to leaving with the injury, Morant struggled with shooting but dropped some big highlights in the contest. In one moment late in the second quarter, the guard dropped a floating jumper past Grizzlies guard Cedric Coward; Morant then seemingly mouthed "he food" at the crowd while pointing toward Coward.

Morant finished with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 23 minutes of play.

The game was close at first, with the two teams tied up at halftime, but Memphis started to pull away in the second half to get the win. Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft , earned his first triple-double (18 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists) in the victory, which moves the Grizzlies to 5-0 on the season.

Morant's time with Memphis — from when he was drafted by the team in 2019 until his trade this summer — was often defined by his off-court issues. He was suspended by the team last season after reportedly getting into a verbal spat with head coach Tuomas Iisalo; in 2023, he started the season with a league-enforced 25-game suspension after brandishing a gun in public.

The trade to Portland felt like a chance for the Grizzlies to turn the page on a disappointing era, while also giving Morant a fresh start. Morant's time with the Trail Blazers had seemed positive so far, with the guard leading the team in assists and serving as a complementary scorer to teammates Deni Avdija and Damian Lillard.