{"id":190603,"date":"2026-02-23T22:39:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/190603\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T22:39:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:39:31","slug":"is-ja-morant-playing-tonight-vs-the-sacramento-kings-latest-update-on-the-memphis-grizzlies-stars-injury-report-february-23-2026-nba-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/190603\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Ja Morant playing tonight vs the Sacramento Kings? Latest update on the Memphis Grizzlies star’s injury report (February 23, 2026) | NBA News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IsMemphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant looks on from the bench in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski) Ja Morant will not play when the Memphis Grizzlies face the Sacramento Kings on February 23, 2026. He has already been ruled out on the official injury report, so there is no chance of a late change before the game.This is not a short-term absence. Morant is dealing with a left elbow UCL sprain, and the current timeline suggests he could be out until early March if recovery goes as expected.<\/p>\n

Is Ja Morant playing vs Kings tonight?<\/p>\n

Ja Morant has been listed as out for this game. There is no doubtful or questionable tag, so his status is clear. Memphis will be without its starting point guard again.The injury affects his passing, shooting, and overall control of the ball. That matters because he is the team\u2019s main ball-handler and scoring option.<\/p>\n

Latest Ja Morant injury update (Feb. 23, 2026)<\/p>\n

Morant is expected to miss more games before returning. Early March is the likely target, provided there are no setbacks.Without him, Memphis has to adjust its approach. The team is not built around one player creating most of the offense in this situation. Instead, they rely on multiple players to handle the ball and create shots.<\/p>\n

Memphis Grizzlies\u2019 injury report and expected rotation<\/p>\n

Memphis Grizzlies have several players out for this game: \u2022 Ja Morant \u2013 left elbow UCL sprain (Out) \u2022 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope \u2013 right pinky finger surgery (Out) \u2022 Santi Aldama \u2013 right knee injury (Out) \u2022 Brandon Clarke \u2013 right calf strain\/soreness (Out) \u2022 Cedric Coward \u2013 right knee posterior capsule sprain (Out) \u2022 Zach Edey \u2013 left ankle stress reaction (Out) \u2022 Kyle Anderson \u2013 right knee soreness (Out)With Morant out, Marcus Smart and Desmond Bane take on more responsibility. The offense relies more on passing and shared playmaking instead of one player controlling most possessions.Memphis enters the game as the underdog, largely because of the missing players.<\/p>\n

Kings\u2019 injury report and current roster context<\/p>\n

Sacramento is also missing key players: \u2022 Domantas Sabonis \u2013 knee\/back issues after meniscus surgery (Out for season) \u2022 Zach LaVine \u2013 right hand\/finger surgery (Out for season) \u2022 De\u2019Andre Hunter \u2013 eye surgery (Out for season) \u2022 Dylan Cardwell \u2013 ankle injury (Out) \u2022 Isaiah Stevens \u2013 inactive (two-way status)With Sabonis out, the Kings rely more on their guards. De\u2019Aaron Fox leads the offense, with more focus on perimeter play.<\/p>\n

What Ja Morant\u2019s absence means for tonight<\/p>\n

Without Morant, Memphis loses its main driver on offense. The team does not get the same pressure at the rim or in transition.For Sacramento, this makes defensive planning simpler. They can focus more on limiting shooters and switching on the perimeter.Also read: Sacramento Kings vs Memphis Grizzlies injury report: Who’s playing, injured and questionable players, head-to-head records, team stats, and more (February 23, 2026)<\/a>Memphis will need a balanced effort to stay competitive, as they do not have their primary option available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant looks on from the bench in the second half of an NBA basketball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190604,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[89403,89401,44026,89402,89389,121,123,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-190603","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento","8":"tag-grizzlies-vs-kings-february-23-2026","9":"tag-is-ja-morant-playing-tonight","10":"tag-ja-morant-injury-update","11":"tag-ja-morant-left-elbow-ucl-sprain","12":"tag-memphis-grizzlies-injury-report","13":"tag-sacramento","14":"tag-sacramento-headlines","15":"tag-sacramento-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}