Memphis Grizzlies young star Ja Morant feels flattered when people compare him to the youngest MVP of all time, Derrick Rose. The 2020 Rookie of the Year has drawn a lot of attention during his first two seasons in the league.
Now, he’s taking his game to the next level, trying to get his first All-Star call in his third year, proving all the doubters wrong. Given his explosiveness, aggressiveness when attacking the rim, Morant is often compared to Derrick Rose. Yet, the player doesn’t think that’s necessary.
Last month, Los Angeles Clippers superstar Paul George described the similarities between the players, saying that guarding Ja is like going against D-Rose.
“He’s just explosive and electrifying. I’d compare him to like D-Rose. I guarded him my rookie year, the Indy-Chicago series, and guarding Ja is very similar to how Derrick Rose was,” George said.
Talking with Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports earlier this week, the third-year guard said he sees the similarities, but what Rose did can’t be done again, putting the 2011 NBA MVP on a different level.
“I definitely see the comparisons, but D-Rose is one of a kind and one special player and you can see the similarities, sure, but there can never be another Derrick Rose,” Morant said. “I’m just trying to be my own player and do what I do on the floor and help my teams win basketball games and continue to get better.”
Even if he doesn’t believe we’ll ever see the second coming of Rose, the comparisons between Ja and Derrick won’t stop anytime soon. Morant has a lot of room to improve his game, as he’s done during his first three seasons.
Sadly, he suffered a knee injury on Friday night, setting the alarms at FedExForum. Hopefully, he can fulfill his potential, something we never got to see with Rose. Just when he was entering the best years of his career, Derrick suffered a series of injuries that prevented him from becoming the megastar people hoped to see.
Still, as Ja said, there can never be another Derrick Rose. He did plenty of special things, and absolutely nobody has something bad to say about him.
