The NBA has seen it’s fair share of rivalries; but is Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant against Zion Williamson the next big thing?
Over its expansive history, the NBA has seen, and arguably been built upon, historic rivalries: Magic vs. Bird, Barkley vs. Oakley, Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons, Phil Jackson vs. the New York Knicks, and the list goes on and on.
And, even after a suspension-shortened season, there could be a chance that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant versus New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson could be the next big rivalry. Or, at the very least, it seems like that’s how everything had been set up for.
Morant was taken second overall, right behind Zion Williamson. Going into the draft, Williamson was being heralded as “the next LeBron”, and that led to Morant getting almost zero attention from the media outlets. In fact, in ESPN’s last mock draft before the night, the hype video at the end of Zion’s report was Zion highlights, whereas the one at the end of Morant’s was highlights of the guy picked after Morant.
Once the season began, Williamson was sidelined with an injury, and Morant was beginning to shine. Ja’s performance skyrocketed, and he shattered every expectations.
Then, Zion returned.
All-in-all, Zion’s first game back wasn’t anything that spectacular. While he did end the game with 22 points and seven rebounds, he also had five turnovers and missed three of his seven two point shots. It’s also worth noting that most of Zion’s points, 17 to be exact, coming in the final three minutes. To top it off, they lost that game.
Despite that, and Williamson only playing 19 games at the point of the hiatus, there was still a ton of hype around Zion to win the Rookie of the Year award, and NBA executives voted him the second best player to build a franchise around.
But, even with everything seeming to fall perfectly into place, the chances of the two having an old-school rivalry, is fairly low. The main reason, the two don’t have any animosity towards each other.
It didn’t matter how close any of those rivals above were off the court (though, most of them weren’t that close), on the court, they were bitter enemies. Williamson and Morant just don’t have that same energy.
Don’t get me wrong, they both have an immense amount of competitive fire and edge, and their careers will be intertwined forever; but as far as that mentality goes, that mentality that says when we’re on the court we’re enemies, it’s just not there.
If you look past the fact that Zion said that Ja should earn the Rookie of the Year award, then just look at how the two interacted during the Rising Star Challenge. It was just clear to everyone who viewed that game that the two were friends, and it’s clear when they play each other there’s a relationship there.
Putting aside all that, Zion and Ja will both go on to have incredible careers, and they will always be compared to each other. Maybe, the fact that they won’t be bitter rivals, will make it all the better.