Ja Morant is just 23 years old, but he has already established himself as one of the premier guards in the NBA. He won Rookie of the Year in 2020 and followed that up with his first All-Star selection this past season. He also won Most Improved Player last season after averaging 27.4 points per game and led the Grizzlies to the second-best record in the league.
He then proceeded to put on a show in the playoffs and was taking it to the Warriors in the Conference Semifinals, as he averaged 38.3 points per game on over 50% shooting from the field before suffering an injury in Game 3. It was an incredible breakout season for the youngster who made himself a household name in the process.
Ja Morant Feels That Some Players Dislike Him For Being Himself
Morant isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, however. He is incredibly brash and doesn’t hold back from speaking his mind at all. There is no filter whatsoever, so it’s not a surprise that certain sections of fans don’t like him and Morant says that there are some players who aren’t too fond of him either. During an episode of “The Pivot” podcast, Morant spoke on the matter.
(starts at 19:00 mark):
“I feel like now just because I’m me and I speak on whatever I want to and say what I’m feeling at the time that some people don’t like me. So that’s why I bust their ass.”
It is easy to dislike someone when they talk the way Morant does, but if players want him to shut up, then they just need to find a way to slow him down on the court. That is a lot easier said than done though, just like the Warriors found out in those 3 games and who knows how that series would have turned out if he didn’t get injured.
Morant certainly believes that they would have won it all if he was healthy and he’ll get another chance to prove that this upcoming season. The Grizzlies are bringing back all of their key players from last season, but they’ll be without Jaren Jackson Jr. for the first few months of the campaign as he recovers from a stress fracture. The onus will be on Ja to step up to the plate and lead the Grizzlies to a strong start as they look for another deep postseason run.
