The adage goes, “It’s Memphis vs. Errrbody,” but the Memphis Grizzlies are slowly changing that narrative, thanks in part to the ascension of Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant.
The Grizzlies have moved up a notch this season thanks in part to Morant’s all-around game, which is sometimes overshadowed by his flash and flare. As Grizzlies color analyst for Bally Sports Brevin Knight put it on Bleav in Grizzlies podcast, “Morant makes solid plays but has flair on how it happens.”
Here is a replay with a little bit of flair, as Knight put it.
In spite of his numerous WTF-inducing plays, Morant’s basketball acumen and overall understanding of the game go largely unnoticed. During a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s Old Man and the Three podcast, Draymond Green revealed the names of the NBA’s most intelligent players and Morant’s name was mentioned.
Green said, “The smartest players I’ve played against are by far LeBron, Rajon Rondo, and Chris Paul. Who’s creeping up into that category, is Ja Morant. Everybody is excited about how Ja Morant flies around, everyone is excited about the passes he may throw. … All of those things are very exciting, don’t get me wrong, they’re exciting. But the thing that excites me most about Ja Morant, is that when we’re playing against the Memphis Grizzlies — and not quite to the level of LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, or Chris Paul — but when we’re playing against [Memphis], I can feel the chess match.”
Grizzlies play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica recently told The Undefeated that Morant had the best basketball IQ of any Memphis player he had ever been around in his 18 years with the team.
Pranica recalled, “Ja’s rookie year, we’re in Cleveland and I’m sitting on the team bus getting ready to go to the game … And I can hear him talking to a teammate recounting a particular play run at a particular time. And what impressed me about Ja is the recall of a particular play. It’s very LeBron-like that he can recount what he did, what the other nine guys were doing. What the first action was, what the second action was, how it was defended, and what the counter to the defense was.”
Saturday night, the third-year guard scored 46 points in a 116-111 win over the Chicago Bulls, setting a new regular season record for the team.
It was his fifth 40-point game of the season; no other Grizzlies player has ever had more than one in a season. Last season, Morant set a franchise record with 47 points against the Utah Jazz in the playoffs.
After the game, Morant also credited Michael Jordan as inspiration.
After being bounced from the playoffs last season against the Jazz, Morant had a message for his team. His words were, “We will be back.” He also said, “We all have that never-satisfied mentality -— we all want to work, to be better, for it to be everybody is a big plus. We just got to continue to do what we’ve been doing. Lock in this offseason and just be prepared for next season.”
And that’s what the team did. Memphis is currently 42-20 on the season, third in the Western Conference, and almost certain to make the playoffs with 20 games left in the regular season. The young Grizzlies are poised to win the Southwest Division for the first time in team history.
Despite the absence of one of the team’s best perimeter defenders, Dillon Books, who has missed 21 games due to injury, the Grizzlies still lead the league in rebounds (49.2), steals (10.2), and blocks (6.4).
On Media Day before the season began, Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman said emphatically that the 22-year-old Morant would be an NBA All-Star. Furthermore, Kleiman was accurate as Morant was selected a starter for the NBA 2022 All-Star Game.
While playing just 18 minutes, Morant was one of the All-Star Game’s biggest winners with two highlight dunks that made NBA legends blush.
After the All-Star Game, Morant said he was excited to be chosen as an All-Star; it was something he put in the work to accomplish. He said, “Definitely blessed to even be a part of this weekend, let alone being able to be an All-Star starter, being able to participate and celebrate the greatest people to play the game. Definitely an honor — I loved it!”
That said, the accolades mean nothing to the young star if he doesn’t win games. Morant added, “I just try to do whatever I can do to help my team win basketball games. If you ask my coach, he will tell you that the main focus is winning. When you will, all the other stuff comes with it, which is why I’m here in this seat right now.”
This season Morant is averaging 27.7 points on 49 percent from the field, 6.7 assists, and 5.9 rebounds. He’s also the NBA’s top scorer in the paint, averaging 16.5 points per game at 6’3”.
Morant’s ultimate goal is to win a championship. He said, “Our goal is to win the championship, and I feel like as long as we stay locked in, continue to grow together, play together, that goal can be achieved. We just got to stay the course, take it day by day, and let it play out.”
Last year’s Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo said that Morant and the Grizzlies are another small market team that can challenge for the championship. Antetokounmpo shared his thoughts on Morant and the Grizzlies during All-Star weekend, “He has improved every single year — he is having an unbelievable year this year … crazy.” Antetokounmpo continued, “I know that he is a very humble kid. I know he works extremely hard, and why not?”
Antetokounmpo added, “Why can’t he win a championship in Memphis? A lot of people think that it cannot be done, and that’s something that he should literally consider. A lot of people think that he cannot do it. For me that motivates me even more, you know, when people think you got to go to a big market to win a championship, you have to join this guy to win a championship, you have to do that, that, this, this to be able to be in the top, but it’s not necessarily true. You just have to do what makes you happy. And I think he is happy where he is right now. He has an unbelievable team. They have a great culture, a great coach. The sky is the limit for them.”
It’s going to be a grueling final stretch for the Grizzlies and Morant, with just 20 games remaining in the regular season. Despite his youth, the point guard is already showing signs of experience and poise under pressure and knows he belongs in the conversation as one of the top players in the league. Morant has rightfully earned his place as one of the league’s most promising young players and one of the future faces of the league in his third season. And he is ready to lead his team to the playoffs and beyond.
