Memphis Grizzlies power forward Brandon Clarke last saw NBA action on March 3, 2023. That was 390 days ago. In that March 3 game last year, the 27-year-old suffered a torn left Achilles.
That substantial injury has kept Clarke sidelined ever since. There is a possibility of that changing on Wednesday for the Grizzlies home game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Clarke has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s tilt against Los Angeles. While Memphis has been out of playoff contention for a long time, it will be nice for the fans to see Clarke for the first time in over a year.
Grizzlies Player Set to Finally Return After a Year Absence
How Clarke Has Fared in his NBA Career
Brandon Clarke was selected 21st overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was traded to Memphis for Darius Bazley and a 2024 second-round pick.
Through four seasons all with Memphis, Clarke has appeared in 237 regular season games (29 starts). In 21.3 minutes a contest, the 6’8” forward has career averages of 10.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks. He has made 60.4% of his field goal tries.
Clarke played a large role in the 2021-22 postseason for the Grizzlies. Memphis was eliminated in the second round by the Golden State Warriors. In 12 postseason games, Clarke averaged 12.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game.
Prior to the injury, Clarke played in 56 games (eight starts) in 2022-23. He shot a career-high 65.6% from the field averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds.
After the 2019-20 season, Clarke finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. He also received one third-place vote for Sixth Man of the Year in 2021-22.
Clarke Represents Rare Good News for Grizzlies This Season
To say the Grizzlies season hasn’t gone according to plan would be quite an understatement.
It started with star Ja Morant being suspended for the first 25 games for behavior displayed on social media. Once the suspension ended, Morant returned to the court for nine games where the Grizzlies went 6-3. He then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury leaving Memphis without their best player.
Their second-best scorer, Desmond Bane, missed two months of action (29 games) from January 13 to March 13. A Grade 3 ankle sprain was the cause for the lengthy absence. Bane was having a career year before his ankle injury but has played just four games since.
Last offseason, Memphis was involved in a three-team trade that saw them acquire former Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart. The 30-year-old has only played in 20 games this season, and he has been out of action since a January 9 game where he suffered a finger injury.
Before the season, it was announced that projected starting center Steven Adams would miss the entire season after undergoing knee surgery. He has since been traded to the Houston Rockets.
The Grizzlies currently own a 24-48 record with 10 games remaining. That mark only puts them ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference standings. They have the seventh-worst record in the NBA.
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