What does it take to be a superstar in the NBA? Is it the year of experience playing in the league, or is it being the best player on a team in one of the biggest markets?
For Ja Morant, it is being the young leader of a small-market team in the Memphis Grizzlies and being a player that fans can resonate with.
The Memphis Grizzlies are currently 29-14 on the season and they have won 10 straight games, 20 of their last 24 games overall. Many have said this season that the Western Conference is a three-headed monster with the Suns, Warriors and Jazz, but the Grizzlies are starting to make a very compelling case that they too are a real championship contender.
Being one of the youngest teams in the league and only having three players on their roster with at least 6 years of NBA playing experience, not many were paying attention to the Grizzlies at the beginning of the season, but now they have everybody’s attention.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Grizzlies’ Ja Morant Must Be An All-Star This Season
Not only has their current win-streak put them on everyone’s radar, but their recent victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night has caught the attention of the national media.
Third-year guard Ja Morant has gone from a low-end college recruit that was found in a side gym during an AAU tournament, to the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, to now being on the verge of making his first All-Star Game.
While he has missed 13 games this season and there are other high-level talents that have played in more games, it would be an absolute travesty if Ja Morant is not a first-time All-Star this season because it is hard to pinpoint many better guards in the league than him right now.
Since returning from a sprained knee that kept him sidelined for about a month’s worth of action, Morant has averaged 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and has shot 51.2% from the floor, 43.2% from three-point range. In these 11 games, the Grizzlies are 9-2 and since December 20, Ja Morant ranks third in the league in scoring, min. 10 games played.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Grizzlies’ Ja Morant Must Be An All-Star This Season
Beating the Warriors 116-108 on Tuesday night to extend their win-streak to 10 games was no small feat for this team and they did so without Steven Adams and Dillon Brooks, two of their key starters.
All season long, the mentality for the Memphis Grizzlies has been “next man up” and while people want to count them out because of their inexperience, they embrace being in this “underdog” type of role. Nobody seems to want to give this team the respect they deserve and quite honestly, this has made them a better team than many anticipated.
“I just like having that pressure,” Morant said following his team’s win the other night. “I feel like that’s when I shine the most. I like to be the one taking that shot, hit or miss.”
Against the Warriors, Ja Morant went for 29 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks, marking the 22nd time he has scored at least 20 points this season and the 11th time this season that he has recorded at least 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, ranking him tied for 5th in the league this season with such games.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Grizzlies’ Ja Morant Must Be An All-Star This Season
Ranking 6th in the league in offensive rating and 7th in the league in defensive rating, there really are no weaknesses to this Grizzlies team. They are just shooting 74.8% from the free-throw line as a team, which ranks them bottom-five in the league, but overall, this team has depth, they play well together and they look hungry out on the floor every single game.
“They’ve turned into one of the best teams in the league,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in regards to the Memphis Grizzlies’ recent play. Kerr knows a thing or two about being a part of the best team in the league, as he was not only a member of the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan, but he has coached the Warriors to three championships since 2015.
At 22-years-old, Ja Morant is the youngest player to average at least 25 points per game in a double-digit winning streak in NBA history, according to Elias Sports Bureau research, and his dominance has reflected in his leadership abilities.
“Number one, we’re one of the best teams in the league,” Morant said. “I feel like that’s number one. And number two, we’re showing how deep our roster is. No matter what’s thrown at us, we bounce back from it and come out and win games. We’ve got to keep it rolling, continue to play together, continue to battle.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Grizzlies’ Ja Morant Must Be An All-Star This Season
With games against the Mavericks, Bulls, Bucks, Nuggets and Jazz coming up on their schedule, the world will definitely get a clearer sense about how real this Grizzlies team’s chances are to be a real playoff threat.
Ja Morant and this young team are one of the hottest teams in the league right now and showing no signs of slowing down, it is time to start calling this team what they truly are – a real contending threat in the Western Conference!
