Grizzlies star Ja Morant posted his first public message since undergoing season-ending surgery on his right shoulder.
Morant posted a photo of herself in a post-surgery hospital bed on her Instagram Story, along with a blue heart emoji, a lotus pose emoji, a checkmark emoji and an hourglass emoji.
The 24-year-old also captioned it.
“Everything you go through has a purpose. So does your life. Focus on the purpose of your life and you will get through this trying time,” he wrote.
Morant suffered a subluxation in his right shoulder during Saturday's training session, and an MRI scan later revealed he had a torn labrum that required surgery, the Grizzlies announced Monday.
The surgery limited Morant to just nine games, but he is expected to make a full recovery by the start of the 2024-25 NBA season. the team said Thursday.
Morant had already missed the first 25 games of the season due to a suspension handed down by the NBA this summer.
The league imposed a long-term ban on the player for brandishing a firearm during an Instagram Live video, marking the second such incident last year.
Morant was booed in his first game back, when the Grizzlies played the Pelicans on Dec. 26 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Morant scored a season-high 34 points in the game and hit a buzzer-beating shot to clinch the championship.
Morant averaged 25.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 47.1 percent from the field in the nine games he played.
Morant received a hero's welcome when he made his Memphis debut in the first home game of the year at FedExForum a few nights later.
The 24-year-old is in the first year of a five-year, $197 million maximum contract extension.
