Point guard Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies have taken the Western Conference and the NBA by storm this season. With a bevy of young talent and a couple of veterans, they have ascended up the standings, and Morant is having the best year of his career. Now in his third season, he is averaging 26.4 points per game, to go along with over six assists and nearly six rebounds a night. The future is very bright for Morant and his teammates, and his electrifying play has been the source of many highlights in the last several months.
Ja Morant – Early Life
Temetrius Jamel ‘Ja’ Morant was born on August 10, 1999, in Dalzell, South Carolina. Ja’s father was actually a high school basketball teammate of NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen, and his mother was a softball and basketball player in her college days. Ja also had other family members who were athletic as well. His uncle and his grandfather were drafted to play Major League Baseball, so he seemed predestined to become a great athlete himself.
Even in grade school, Morant was the best of basketball players who were two to three years older than he was. this led him to have a lot of confidence, sometimes even a little too much. His father would have to tell him to remain humble and hardworking throughout his basketball journey, which is the support Ja needed. However, the energy and passion for the game we see from Ja today were evident at an early stage of his life.
Ja Morant – High School (Underclassman)
Even though he had a lot of skill at a young age, Morant wasn’t necessarily an all-world phenom heading into high school. He ended up attending Crestwood High School, and his physical stature matured just in time. As he entered his freshman season with Crestwood, he grew to 5’10”, which was notable considering he spent his middle school years around 5’5”. Playing basketball as a smaller guard allowed Ja to refine his offensive game and come up with different ways to get off a shot. His father’s lessons about remaining humble were also well received by Ja in the early part of his high school career. Crestwood’s head coach wanted to elevate Morant to the varsity team when he was a sophomore, but the underclassman rebuked the offer. He felt that there was still more work he needed to do before he could excel at the varsity stage, which spoke to his ability to be realistic about where his game stood.
Ja Morant – High School (Upperclassman)
Of course, once he did arrive at the varsity level as a junior, he shined. Now standing at six feet tall, while retaining the explosiveness and quickness he always had, Ja was a force to be reckoned with. In his junior and senior campaigns, he averaged 27 points per game, to go along with eight assists per game and eight rebounds per game. Because he was that much better than his competition, he had free reign to push the pace whenever he wanted and set up teammates with the proverbial green light.
Ja Morant – Freshman Year with the Murray State Racers
Even though Morant had put together an impressive final two years of high school, the South Carolina class of basketball players centered around a different guy. Zion Williamson, albeit a year younger than Ja, was getting all the attention nationally with his otherworldly combination of strength and leaping ability. While Morant’s lack of division one offers cannot solely be blamed on Williamson’s presence, the former was forced to settle for opportunities at mid-major schools. He decided to play his college ball at Murray State. No one really knew it at the time, but Murray State basketball would never be the same again after bringing in this transcendent recruit.
The marriage between player and program actually started quite innocently, as a Murray State assistant coach was walking around an AAU complex in Kentucky. He was primarily sent there to scout a different player but happened to step into an auxiliary gym after grabbing a snack. Morant was playing in a three-on-three game in that complex and left an indelible impression on the coach. It was that impression that paved the way for Ja to end up at Murray State.
In his freshman season, Morant started all 32 games he appeared in. He averaged over 12 points, six assists, and six rebounds per game. He was very consistent right out of the gate, as Morant recorded double-digit scoring games in all but seven contests that year. Murray State had a tremendous season in 2017-2018, as they finished 16-2 in the conference, and were the number 12 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately for the Racers, they only ended up playing one NCAA tournament game, as they fell in the first round in a loss to West Virginia.
Ja Morant – Sophomore Season
While he got off to a strong start as a freshman, Morant took his game to a whole different tier as a sophomore. Morant recorded multiple triple-doubles in the campaign, including a 17-point, 16 assists, and 11 rebound masterpiece against Marquette in the NCAA Tournament.
In total, he registered three triples doubles as a sophomore, which helped him accomplish something no other Division I men’s college basketball player had ever done. He became the first player in NCAA history to average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game for a single season. In Ja’s second college season, Murray State advanced to the second round of the big dance but lost to a Florida State team that had future NBA players like Terance Mann, Trent Forrest, and Devin Vassell.
Ja Morant – Memphis Grizzlies
Morant’s tremendous sophomore season catapulted him right to the near top of NBA draft boards in 2019. He was the next point guard in a line of small school elite players like Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, and the only question was whether the teams picking one through three would want to select him.
Duke’s Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett had been in the spotlight across the nation during their entire freshman seasons and had played many games on national television. Williamson ended up being selected first by the New Orleans Pelicans, but the Memphis Grizzlies took Morant over Barrett with the second overall pick.
Ja Morant – Takes Another Step in Year 2
As has been the pattern for most of his basketball life, Morant improved in his second year in the league. His statistics improved modestly, but team goals were also achieved for the former Murray State star. Morant led the Grizzlies to the postseason, by way of play-in tournament victories against the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors. Memphis ended up falling to the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA playoffs but fought hard until the very end. In the series-ending defeat, Morant scored 27 points, dished out 11 assists, and pulled down seven rebounds.
Ja Morant – NBA Future
This season has been a special one for Morant and the Grizzlies. They have their sights set on more than just being a playoff team in the Western Conference, and Morant hopes to lead Memphis to bigger and better things this spring. He hasn’t had a triple-double yet this year, but Morant has filled up the stat sheet in true superstar form. His scoring average has jumped to over 26 points a night, while only making 1.5 threes per contest. That means that he’s doing the majority of his work in the paint, and many times, is ending a possession with a spectacular dunk.
It will be interesting to see what Morant’s ceiling is. He has explosiveness reminiscent of Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, and fans can only hope that he remains healthy. It’s scary to think, but he still has a lot of room to improve as a player.
Why is Ja Morant Rookie of the Year?
While Morant didn’t have the same luster coming into the NBA as the other guys, he proved right away that he could contribute and star as an NBA rookie. Ja ushered in a new era of Grizzlies basketball, scoring nearly 18 points per game in his first professional season. In somewhat of a surprise, he captured the NBA Rookie of The Year award that season, showing he was the most durable and productive option of any first-year player.
