Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Headline the Fantasy Basketball Stash Calendar: When Each Injured Star Is Due Back

The first month of the 2026-27 season produced an unusually heavy run of multi-week injuries to fantasy cornerstones, and mid-November is when the return dates start to come into view. Ja Morant is about two weeks from his scheduled re-evaluation in Portland, Jaren Jackson Jr. reaches his six-week checkpoint in Utah in early December, and Anthony Edwards is tracking toward a late-December return in Minnesota.

For fantasy managers, this is the window to decide who earns an injured-list spot and who can be cut. For bettors, these dates mark when team strength, and with it futures and Cup outlooks, will shift. Below is the calendar, built only from team announcements and confirmed reports.

The return calendar

Re-evaluation dates are not return dates. A player can be re-evaluated and still need a ramp-up period, so treat the right column as the earliest point at which a return becomes possible.

Ja Morant and the Blazers' backcourt

Morant hurt his left hamstring in Portland's loss to Memphis on Oct. 29, leaving after 14 points and three assists in 23 minutes. Imaging showed a Grade 2 strain, and the team set a four-week re-evaluation, which lands in the final days of November. Since 2005-06, the average time lost for an in-season Grade 2 hamstring strain in the NBA is 34.7 days, or about 14 games, a useful baseline that points to early December rather than the re-evaluation date itself.

Jrue Holiday has filled the starting guard spot in his absence, and he should keep a meaningful role even after Morant returns. Morant is a firm stash in all leagues with an injured-list spot. Hamstring injuries carry re-injury risk, though, and his long injury history means managers should expect a cautious ramp-up and possibly a minutes limit at first.

Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Jazz frontcourt

Jackson tore the MCL in his right knee on Oct. 26 when Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome fell into him and the knee buckled. The injury does not require surgery, and the Jazz said he will be re-evaluated in six weeks. Multiple reports put the full recovery window at six to eight weeks, which places his likely return between early December and the week before Christmas.

Jackson's blocks and threes are rare enough that he is worth an injured-list spot in every format. The bigger question is context: Utah has no reason to rush a knee injury this early in the season, and teams in that position often take the conservative route. Managers should hold him, but plan for the back half of that window rather than the front.

Anthony Edwards and Minnesota's timeline

Edwards had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in late October. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly said the team expects him to be fully healthy with no long-term concern. Reports on the timeline vary: an AP source initially said several weeks, while Charania reported he could miss up to two months. A two-month absence would mean roughly 25 games and a return around late December, per an estimate cited by Bleacher Report.

Edwards is a stash in every league, and no fantasy manager should consider cutting him. The Timberwolves have shared his scoring load, with Julius Randle leading the way in the early games and Naz Reid taking on a bigger role. Both carry extra value until Edwards returns and should be viewed as sell-high candidates as his return approaches.

Banchero, Strawther, Holmgren and the rest

Paolo Banchero suffered a low-grade high sprain of his right ankle in a loss to Minnesota in late October. The Magic have not set a return date, but the typical window for the injury is four to six weeks, which points to late November or early December. Stash him in all formats.

Julian Strawther sprained his left knee in a preseason game on Oct. 14, and the Nuggets set a six-week re-evaluation. He is a bench piece in Denver and is safe to cut in standard leagues. Chet Holmgren's eight-to-10-week timeline puts him on track for late December or early January, and he is worth a stash for his blocks and threes.

Two cases remain open. Kawhi Leonard has been out since Oct. 23 with left knee swelling; the Raptors said Nov. 3 that he had finished treatment and started a return-to-play process with a reassessment in a week, and an earlier report pegged his absence at three to four weeks. Hold him until the team gives a clearer update. In Detroit, Jalen Duren will miss at least two more weeks with a right hamstring strain, per the Pistons' latest update.

The Verdexed angle

The fantasy logic for injured-list management is simple: a player who returns before your league's playoffs and delivers top-50 production is worth more than any waiver add who fills a spot today. By that standard, Edwards, Morant, Jackson, Banchero and Holmgren are all clear stashes. The decisions get harder at the margins, with players like Strawther whose returning role is small.

For bettors, the return calendar is a schedule of team-strength changes. Minnesota, Portland, Orlando and Utah will each look meaningfully different once their star returns, and spreads tend to lag behind those returns by a game or two while the market waits to see minutes and efficiency. NBA Cup group play also ends in late November, so most of these players will miss the group stage entirely, which shapes how their teams should be judged in Cup markets. For the model's game-by-game view, see the NBA predictions page.

What's next

The first checkpoints arrive in the last week of November, when Morant's and Strawther's re-evaluations are due. Jackson's follows in early December, and Edwards and Holmgren should be practicing by the middle of the month if their recoveries stay on schedule. Watch for practice participation, G League assignments and minutes restrictions, which are usually the last signals before a return. Managers who planned their injured-list spots around this calendar will be in the best position when the stars come back.