National Basketball Association

Grizzlies center Steven Adams set to undergo season-ending knee surgery

Published Oct. 22, 2023 1:29 p.m. ET

The Memphis Grizzlies are losing another player from their starting lineup ahead of the start of this season.

Center Steven Adams will undergo season-ending surgery on his knee to repair his right posterior cruciate ligament after "non-operative rehabilitation did not resolve ongoing knee instability," the team announced on Sunday.

The center initially suffered the PCL injury in January of last season. The injury was originally diagnosed as a PCL sprain, with Adams missing several weeks before undergoing a stem cell injection in March to try to get him to return later in the season. However, he was ruled out for the 2022-23 season shortly before the start of the playoffs.

The Grizzlies expect Adams to make a full recovery from the surgery and return in time for the start of the 2024-25 season.

With Adams out for the year, the Grizzlies will be without two members of their typical starting five to open this season. Ja Morant will serve a 25-game suspension once the season opens for a gun-related incident in May, his second gun-related suspension since March.

Adams played a key role in the Grizzlies' ascent over the last two seasons after the team acquired him during the 2021 offseason. He averaged 7.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game over his first two seasons in Memphis, helping it earn the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference in both years. He signed a two-year, $25.2 million extension ahead of last season that will carry him through the 2025 offseason.

Xavier Tillman started most games at center for the Grizzlies last season after Adams' injury, averaging 9.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game after Adams went down. The Grizzlies also have big men Jaren Jackson Jr., Santi Aldama and Kenneth Lofton Jr. to start the season. Brandon Clarke is still sidelined after suffering an Achilles tear in March.

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