Ever since he made it to the NBA, Ja Morant has shown he has the quality and desire to become a superstar in the league. Every year, the Memphis Grizzlies point guard has improved his level, becoming one of the future faces of the association and one of the best players in the league this season.
The energy he brings to the game is unmatched and Ja is already drawing comparisons to legends thanks to his performances. His style of play isn’t the only thing earning Ja some praise. His attitude on the court is really fun and recently, somebody compared it to one of the biggest competitors in NBA history.
Shaquille O’Neal has become a big admirer of the 22-year-old. During a recent edition of his “The Big Podcast With Shaq,” O’Neal discussed the similarities between Morant and his former teammate/nemesis Kobe Bryant. Shaq explained that Kobe had a challenging attitude when he made it to the league, willing to do anything on the court no matter who stood in his way.
“I wasn’t talking about the player. I was talking about the attitude. When Kobe came in at 19 he knew he was the s**t, he just knew it. The coach will be like, ‘don’t do that play,’ Kobe would be like, ‘nope I’m doing it.’ Like this kid is really freaking good and he knows it.”
“And there’s not a lot of people you can say that about in this league as a young player. That’s what I mean by that. He knows it, he wasn’t highly drafted, wasn’t highly talked about, made a name for himself late in the NCAA, but he knows he’s good. He knows that’s his team and he’s playing really well. That’s what I meant by that.”
As you may know, Kobe had to fight hard to earn a spot on the Lakers. He knew his quality was off the charts and tried to demonstrate it every time he had the chance. Morant didn’t land in the same situation as the Black Mamba, but he’s trying to turn things around in Memphis, leading the squad to the 3rd seed in the Western Conference.
He’s not trying to make friends, he’s just focused on helping his team win and nothing else. His style of play reminds people of Derrick Rose and Allen Iverson, but his attitude resembles Kobe Bryant a lot. If that’s not the recipe for success, I don’t know what is.
