Ben GolliverOct 30, 2026, 02:48 PM ETCloseBen Golliver is a senior NBA writer who joined ESPN in May 2026. Prior to joining ESPN, Golliver covered the NBA on a national level since 2010 for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports. He is the author of Bubbleball, an account of his 93-day stay at the NBA’s “Bubble” in Disney World during the coronavirus pandemic. He is based in Los Angeles.Multiple AuthorsPortland Trail Blazers guard Ja Morant has sustained a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and will be out at least four weeks before being reevaluated, the team announced Friday.Morant suffered the injury while playing in his first game against his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies, on Thursday night.
He exited in the fourth quarter and did not return.Coach Micah Nori said postgame that Morant felt a twinge in his hamstring before leaving the game.The setback comes amid a promising start for Morant and the Trail Blazers, who are 3-1 entering Friday. The four-week timeline means that Morant will miss at least the next 15 games. The Trail Blazers begin a four-game road trip against the Utah Jazz on Saturday.Morant, who was acquired by Portland in a surprising offseason trade, has joined Damian Lillard in a star-studded backcourt that has delivered the NBA’s No. 3 offense through Thursday. Morant, a two-time All-Star, scored a season-high 23 points in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
He has averaged 15.8 points and 5.5 assists over his first four games with the Trail Blazers.In Morant’s absence, Nori will likely lean more heavily on backup guards Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson. The first-year coach said earlier this week that he had sought to limit minutes for both Lillard and Morant to take advantage of his backcourt depth.Morant, 27, has dealt with a series of injuries in recent seasons, and he played in just 20 games in 2025-26 due to an elbow sprain.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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