Scotty Pippen Jr. day-to-day with lumbar disc injury

Pippen sat out Wednesday vs. Indiana, and after the game the Grizzlies coach finally put a timeline on it.

Drew Hill

@DrewHill_DM

Iisalo said Scotty Pippen Jr. is "day-to-day or week-to-week" depending on how he recovers from lumbar disc injury.

That's about as vague as a timeline gets, but this week it counts as good news. Memphis listed Pippen with lower back soreness for 2 games, then changed it to a lumbar disc herniation on the injury report before the Pacers game. Once the words 'disc herniation' show up, you're bracing to hear 'reevaluated in a month,' or something worse. Instead you get 'depending on how he recovers.'

His last game was October 29 vs. Portland, where he played limited minutes and went 1-of-1 for 2 points. He was questionable against Sacramento and didn't play, then went from doubtful to out shortly before tip against New Orleans. Now he's missed the Pacers game too.

Damichael Cole

@DamichaelC

Tuomas Iisalo said Scotty Pippen Jr. is likely day-to-day or week-to-week depending on how he progresses. Sounds like he avoided a long-term injury. Positive news for Memphis

That's how the Memphis beat read it too, and with Pippen's medical history it's a reasonable sigh of relief. This isn't his first back problem. In February 2024 he hurt his back in a loss to the Pelicans, an MRI found a bulging disc, and the team said he'd be reevaluated in 3 weeks. Then came the toes: a sesamoidectomy on his left big toe in October 2025 and the same surgery on the right one in March 2026. Those 2 surgeries held him to 10 games last season.

In those 10 games he looked like a real NBA guard: 11.4 points and 4.7 assists a night. That's a long way from where he started. He went undrafted, played 6 games for the Lakers in 2022, and signed a 2-way deal with Memphis in January 2024. Every comeback he's made has been interrupted by another injury, so even a short-term back issue is going to make Grizzlies fans nervous.

For now, Ty Jerome runs the point and Cam Spencer takes more of the backup minutes. What to watch is the injury report game by game. If Pippen goes from out to questionable soon, it's the day-to-day version. If he stays out for another week or 2, it's the week-to-week version. Either way, a disc herniation that isn't costing him months is a win for Memphis.