Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant took the league by storm during the 2021-22 NBA season. He was selected for his first All-Star game and was a big reason that the team finished with the second-best record in the NBA.
The explosive point guard averaged 27.4 points, 6.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 33.1 minutes per game last season. He made nearly 50 percent of his shots, sinking 49.3 overall and 34.4 percent of his 3-point attempts, which was a sizable step up from the first two seasons in his career.
This season, he has taken things to another level in the early going. Through four games, Morant is averaging 33.3 points, 6.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.7 steals in 32.7 minutes per game. His efficiency has been through the roof with a .550/.560/.875 shooting split, and they are all on high volume. He is averaging 20.4 shots per game, 4.6 3-pointers, and 9.6 free throws.
This has the looks of a special season thus far, and the only thing that would derail it is poor health. Morant missed 25 games last season, but the Grizzlies were able to go 20-5 without their All-Star in the lineup.
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Last season’s performance put Morant on the map. Heading into the 2022-23 campaign, some people believed he was a dark horse for the MVP award after winning the Most Improved Player award last season. Organizations around the league are taking notice of his ascension, and some have placed some high praise on him, including Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd.
Kidd knows a thing or two about point guard play, as he was one of the best to ever do it. The Hall of Famer was very complimentary of Morant, comparing him to star players.
“When you talk about Ja’s game he understands what he’s trying to do on each possession, he gets to his spots, he can get to the rim with the best of them,” Kidd said. “It’s kind of Derrick Rose (Allen Iverson)-ish. I hope he doesn’t mind that comparison.
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“But defensively, you talk about his size. He plays above the rim because he’s going to end up with a blocked shot that you didn’t account for or you didn’t see him if he comes flying from the weak side or from behind. It’s kind of cool to see at his height the impact that he has on the game.”
That is certainly some high praise from Kidd, who has a special player of his own to coach in Luka Doncic, but the two couldn’t be more different. Doncic uses a methodic style of play, almost lulling his opponent to sleep, while Morant plays an explosive style of basketball that is more in your face.
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But both are very successful in their own way and will only keep getting better as they mature and round out their skill sets. The league is in good hands with players of their caliber heading into the future.
