Ja Morant has been the most exciting player to watch in the NBA this season. After every Memphis Grizzlies game, the NBA social media feeds and sports channels are flooded with highlights of Morant floating through the air as he searches for his next target to humiliate under the rim.
The word “electrifying” was used to describe Morant on draft night, and there’s no better word that can describe the guard. Morant’s high-flying dunks and incredible ankle breakers just graze the surface of his potential. In his first NBA season, Morant won the Rookie of the Year award. This was just the beginning of Morant’s career of accomplishments.
If you’ve never seen Morant play before, you may be wondering what makes him stand out from the other superstars of the NBA. Morant is a player who doesn’t let the opinions of others get to him; he is quick to speak his mind, and will never back away from an opportunity to make an impactful play. Morant has dazzled NBA fans with his ability to score countless times per game, using his peak body control, his small frame, and agility to maneuver himself through and over the bigger defenders. Morant averaged 16.7 points per game, the most points in the paint this season, a category usually held by much taller players. This is a true testament to Morant’s effort, as he always makes it a point to get back on defense after driving the full length of the court to score a basket.
Morant is unique when it comes to supporting his teammates. Morant brought home the 2021-2022 NBA Most Improved Player award in April, which he then gifted to teammate Desmond Bane. Morant was pulling for his teammate to win the award, as Bane doubled his scoring from the previous season. Morant is constantly saying good things about his teammates and doesn’t put his own successes and accomplishments in front of the team’s needs. Morant’s gritty work ethic has rubbed off on his teammates, as the Grizzlies went 20-5 without Morant in the lineup while he was injured.
Team loyalty has always been a hot topic in the NBA. In this era, players have more say over where they want to play, and tend to move to more marketable teams and franchises. Morant falls under the category of players who plan to stay and build a franchise with their draft team. Morant has expressed wanting to stay in Memphis, and is eligible for a supermax five-year contact with the Grizzlies for $217 million. That’s assuming Morant makes an All-NBA team, which by the way he plays, is almost a guarantee. The Grizzlies are fools to not offer or sign Morant to the supermax. Morant has proven his worth to the Grizzlies as the franchise player for Memphis and a player worth the supermax contract.
The Murray State product is currently in his third NBA season with the Memphis Grizzlies and has improved each year. During his rocky first season, the Grizzlies finished the year with a record of 34-39 and missed the playoffs. At the beginning of the 2021-2022 season, if you were to say the Grizzlies were serious contenders, you may get laughed at. But Morant has built a winning culture in Memphis and inspired the Grizzlies to an impressive 56-26 record in the regular season, the second best record in the Western Conference. 2022 marked the Grizzlies’ second straight playoff appearance, which unfortunately saw the young team fall two games short of the franchise’s first conference finals. But the way the Grizzlies and Morant have been playing recently, the idea of a young team winning a championship doesn’t seem so far-fetched to believe anymore.
Morant’s ability to score at all three scoring levels is indescribable. He is able to knock down three-pointers consistently while still being able to beat a defender off the dribble, making him one of the hardest players in the NBA right now to guard. You never know what move Morant is going to make next; you just know when he makes one, he’s going to make it rain. Morant has been a breath of fresh air in the basketball world. He embodies all the attributes an All-Star point guard represents, and has talent coaches can’t teach. At only 22 years of age, Morant has already earned the right to sit amongst NBA royalty such as Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Allen Iverson, inspiring the next generation of players and the next generation of NBA fans.
Esher is a second year law & communications student who is invested in sports. When he isn't filming and writing about basketball, he can often be found washing cars or cutting the grass. Esher hopes to one day enter the field of law enforcement and start his own media group.
