‘Writhing’ NBA phenom Ja Morant wheeled off court after ankle injury

The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year left Tuesday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets in a wheelchair after “writhing on the ground”.

Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, left Tuesday’s game (AEDT) against the Brooklyn Nets in a wheelchair with a sprained left ankle.

Morant had risen to try to block a jump shot by Brooklyn’s French forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot with less than three minutes remaining in the first half of the game at Barclays Center.

He turned his left ankle when he landed and hopped off the court, falling to the floor near the baseline.

Moments later, Morant left the court in a wheelchair.

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“Ja Morant (left ankle sprain) will not return,” the Grizzlies tweeted during halftime.

Morant, 21, was having a relatively quiet night with seven points on two of seven shooting in 13 minutes.

Ja Morant down in Brooklyn. Writhing on the ground.

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) December 29, 2020

Ja was taken off the floor in a wheelchair after an apparent lower leg injury

Prayers up 🙏 pic.twitter.com/OBY7QVjAcK

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 29, 2020

He’s been off to a strong start in the young season, averaging 36 points over the first two games, both Grizzlies defeats to the Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs.

Memphis held their nerve in overtime to secure a thrilling 116-111 victory, their first win of the 2020/21 season.

Power forward Kyle Anderson scored a team-high 28 points, while small forward Dillon Brooks managed 24 points.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn point guard Charles LeVert scored 28 points and 11 assists in a classy performance.

For their next fixture, the Grizzlies will face the Boston Celtics on Thursday morning at 11:30am AEDT.

The Grizzlies come away with a thrilling OT victory! 🔥#CenterCourt pic.twitter.com/O3niSiK9kf

— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 29, 2020

76ERS EXEC FINED $50,000 FOR TWEET

Philadelphia 76ers’ president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, whose tweet last year about Hong Kong protesters led to an NBA-China rift, is in trouble again for another social media post.

On Monday, the NBA said it has issued Morey a US$50,000 fine for violating the league’s anti-tampering rule.

The penalty was imposed for a since-deleted social media post Morey made on December 20th regarding Houston Rockets star James Harden, the NBA’s top scorer each of the past three seasons.

Harden has said he wants to be traded from the Rockets and one of the teams he indicated he would accept a deal to join was the 76ers.

The tweet celebrated a feat done by Harden a year earlier.

Daryl Morey previously served as general manager of the Houston Rockets.

READ MORE: LeBron’s fury after son linked to 46yo

Morey knows Harden’s talents well. Morey had served as general manager of the Rockets from 2007 until departing this past October and then joining the 76ers last month.

In October 2019, Morey sent tweets supportive of protests in Hong Kong, leading China to stop NBA television coverage for a year and sever sponsorship ties and other deals.

The 76ers are off to a 2-1 start to the 2020-21 campaign while the Rockets lost their opener after having a game postponed when they could not field a minimum eight players.

Absences were due to COVID-19 issues, including Harden needing to be isolated and tested after appearing at a party in violation of NBA safety protocols.

— AFP

Originally published as ‘Writhing’ NBA phenom Ja Morant wheeled off court after ankle injury