Still holding down the eighth seed in the Western Conference despite having lost their first three games in the Orlando bubble, the Memphis Grizzlies are dealing with another major loss.
Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. out for the season
This is a devastating blow for Memphis one day after losing to the New Orleans Pelicans by the score of 109-99.
Jackson, 20, is among the best young players in the NBA. The No. 4 overall pick back in 2018, the Michigan State product ends the season averaging 17.4 points and 4.6 rebounds on 47% shooting from the field.
Memphis finds itself just two games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with five games remaining. If the No. 9 seed is within four games of Memphis at the end of a regular season, the team would have to take part in a play-in-tournament for the eighth spot.
Needless to say, the onus is now going fall squarely on the shoulders of likely NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant moving forward for the Grizzlies.
As for Jackson, the timeline to recover from a torn meniscus in the knee places into question his status to start the 2020-21 season, which is expected to get going some time in December.