3 Takeaways from Jaren Jackson Jr. at Memphis Grizzlies Media Day
By Reed Chapman
Jaren Jackson Jr. may return to Memphis Grizzlies sooner than you think
Quite possibly the biggest question heading into the 2022-23 season for the Memphis Grizzlies is the return date of Jaren Jackson Jr.
It was announced during the opening minutes of free agency this offseason by ESPN’S Adrian Wojnarowski that Jackson Jr. underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot, and would be sidelined for 4-6 months.
This sent Grizzlies fans into a frenzy, as this news came completely out of no where and 4-6 months would mean that Jaren could be out until early January.
Although an exact date still was not given for his return on Monday, it definitely seemed like all amongst the organization including Jaren himself was optimistic about the situation.
Taylor Jenkins was the first to give an update on Jackson Jr.’s injury status, stating how proud he was of Jaren’s efforts and that the timeline of his recovery was still the same.
Jaren hinted a few days ago on his backup instagram account that he’d be back soon, so reporters were definitely ready to ask him about how soon that would be.
When asked about how the foot was feeling on media day, he stated:
"“The foot is feeling good. Same sort of stuff that the team put out on my timeline, I’m beating it if not on schedule. I’m feeling good, walked in here pretty smooth.” “The foot is feeling good. Same sort of stuff that the team put out on my timeline, I’m beating it if not on schedule. I’m feeling good, walked in here pretty smooth.”"
He was also asked if there was a chance that he’d be back on opening night and he had this to say:
"“Opening night? Probably not likely, but I mean… you’ll see. You’ll like it.” “Opening night? Probably not likely, but I mean… you’ll see. You’ll like it.”"
Based on how optimistic Jaren Jackson Jr. is acting about his potential return, expect him to be back sooner rather than later in the 4-6 month timeline that he was originally given.