Can the Grizzlies' Bigs Stay Healthy This Year?

The team still got the victory and improved to 5-0 for the second time in franchise history, but it brought up a question about the health and availability of the Grizzlies’ big man rotation.

Isaiah Stewart missed the season opener Oct. 21 after suffering an ankle injury in preseason, while Zach Edey was absent in the win over the Kings due to recovering from the ankle injury that ended his season last year.

The real worry amongst fans isn’t if one of these three occasionally misses a game or a small stretch to rest up, it’s if one of them misses long-term, can the other two hold it down? And their injury track record does not bring too much positivity.

Post’s Past

Across two seasons in Golden State, the No. 52 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft sprained his left ankle last December, then suffered a right foot injury in March that shut him down for his final nine games, including the play-in.

Even back at Boston College, an ankle injury in the final game of the season against Georgia Tech cost him the opportunity to compete in the 2023 ACC tournament.

For a team that lost an NBA-record 564 man-games to injury last season, that did not stop Memphis from committing three years and $30 million to him this summer to lure him away from the Warriors.

When he has been on the floor this season, Post has had his ups and downs.

On offense, he is averaging 7.6 points a game on 62.5% shooting from the field and 41.7% from three across five appearances and has scored double digits in the last two games.

However on defense, Post has room to improve, as he has often not played with enough physicality when guarding opposing bigs, and finds himself getting pushed around and boxed out consistently on rebounds.

Stewart’s History

After being acquired via trade with Detroit, Stewart’s career with Memphis did not get off to the start he wanted as he missed the season opener due to a sprained ankle that occurred just two minutes into his Grizzlies debut back in the preseason.

His timeline was initially listed as being out multiple weeks on Oct. 9, and he came back exactly 14 days later on Oct. 23 against Golden State.

This injury was not new for him either, as Stewart has a well-documented history of ankle injuries: including when he sprained the same ankle in November of last season with Detroit, and a separate ankle sprain in January 2024 cost him eight games.

Despite not getting to see him play right out of the gate to start the season, Stewart has made the wait worth it since returning.

Not only has he brought the tough attitude Grizzly fans have longed for, offensively he has averaged 9.8 points on 60% shooting in his four games played, capped by a season-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Portland.

Edey’s Availablity

Despite missing just one game in his junior season at Purdue, Edey hasn’t come close to that kind of availability since turning pro.

Across his two NBA seasons, Edey’s missed 87 games.

Twelve came as a rookie with a sprained ankle, while the other 58 came last season, when that same ankle flared up again and eventually required surgery that ended his year in March.

So far this season, Edey has averaged 7.8 points and 7.3 rebounds across four appearances, including a 6-of-8 shooting night against Portland, including 1-of-1 from three, for what was his best game of the young season.

While he has not actually suffered an injury this season, the history and precaution the organization is showing with the missed game at Sacramento is proof that his health is still something the Grizzlies worry about for this season and beyond.

Individually, none of this season’s absences are sounding the alarm yet, but what "could happen," is the part that halts some of the optimism about the next 77 games.

Although through the first five, the Grizzlies are undefeated despite missing some of their big men in those games.

The question now is not only whether they can keep up the winning on the court, but can they surprise everyone and stay relatively healthy at the position throughout the 2026-27 season.