Ja Morant will play in All-Star games. Several of them. He’s that kind of NBA talent, both by the numbers and (more importantly) the eye test for what makes a professional basketball star: game-changing talent, distinctive style of play, and heavy on the charisma factor. He just won’t play in this Sunday’s All-Star Game, not at age 21 in what could be his senior season at Murray State University. It’s disappointing for Memphis fans, but it’s a time for patience.
With only 24 roster spots (12 per conference), NBA All-Star is an exclusive club unlike many in professional sports. Once established, an All-Star typically hangs on to his “membership” for several years. Among the 24 players originally selected for this year’s team, fully half of them would be playing in at least their fourth All-Star Game. (Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant will miss his 11th showcase with an injury and the Lakers’ Anthony Davis will miss his eighth.) Four players — only four — will make their All-Star debuts Sunday night: New York’s Julius Randle, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, and Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans. You’ll notice only one of these players (Williamson) is from the Western Conference, and he’s a forward.
Being a guard, Morant’s challenge is to take the seat of one of the following Western Conference stars: Steph Curry (a two-time MVP), Luka Doncic (first-team All-NBA), Damian Lillard (averaging 29.8 points per game), Donovan Mitchell (24.5 ppg), Chris Paul (11-time All-Star, exclusive “membership”), or Devin Booker (25.5 ppg; replaced Davis on the squad). Those are not the six guys you want in the lobby as you await a job interview. But Morant’s day will come. He has time (21 years old) and an abundance of talent on his side.
• The American Athletic Conference twisted the pandemic knife by moving the Memphis Tigers’ regular-season finale (this Sunday) from FedExForum to the Fertitta Center in Houston. The team Memphis most needs to beat for NCAA tournament consideration now gets to host the Tigers in what will be their only meeting of the regular season. (The teams’ originally scheduled game in Houston was the second of four postponements due to Covid-19 exposure in the Tiger program.) Memphis is essentially being punished by the AAC for exposure to the coronavirus at the wrong time of their season.
Memphis Athletics / Joe Murphy
Penny Hardaway
But here’s the thing: Win the game. Memphis would have needed a win in Houston anyway (on Valentine’s Day) to attract NCAA tournament eyes. Coach Penny Hardaway needs to emphasize to his team that Sunday’s game is merely that game three weeks later. Maybe it will be a steeper hill to climb on the road. But maybe a road-warrior mentality would be healthy for a Tiger team that will play deep into March only if properly motivated. Remember “Memphis vs. Errrbody”? It applies this week for the Tigers, and with much to gain.
• Steve Selby is among my favorite Memphis sports figures of the last two decades. The longtime play-by-play voice of the Memphis Redbirds announced his retirement last week after 34 years behind the microphone, all in the minor leagues. He is a pro’s pro, as careful with the pronunciation of Albuquerque’s third relief pitcher as he is reflecting on the stardom of past Redbird greats like Adam Wainwright or David Freese. And man, can Selby tell a story (a must for a good baseball broadcaster). Willie Mays hit a home run in the first big-league game Selby attended, in 1962 at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. He found it easy to fall in love with baseball.
Selby was broadcasting games for the Durham Bulls when Hollywood showed up and made one of the most popular sports movies in history. (Bull Durham hit the screen in 1988.) It was filmed during the winter, when Selby was home in Alabama, so he didn’t appear in the movie . . . but he was part of why the movie was made. He’s minor-league baseball, only with big-league talent, which anyone who’s listened to a Redbirds broadcast knows well. Whatever form Memphis Redbirds media takes (and live streaming has changed the industry), it will miss Steve Selby.
