Despite a strong season for the team, one Memphis Grizzlies player who has had a slightly disappointing season is Ja Morant. He hasn’t been bad, but his game hasn’t taken as much of a step forward as a lot of fans expected.
That being said, he has been the leader of this Grizzlies team and is still rapidly improving. If not for a 3-point shooting slump, he may have even made an NBA All-Star appearance.
Regardless of how he has played this season, Morant is undeniably one of the most electrifying players to enter this league in a long time. His explosive athleticism and lighting-speed keep your eyes glued to the TV for the entirety of each Grizzlies game.
Memphis Grizzlies PG Ja Morant has a similar play style to some NBA greats
And as a young star in the NBA, Morant is bound to draw some comparisons to past and current NBA stars. It happens with everybody.
Morant is no exception. These comparisons aren’t brought up for no reason, either. In order to get a glimpse into the future of young players, it’s important to look at other players that have a similar play-style and how their careers have panned out.
Generally speaking, players don’t follow the same direction as their NBA comparison, especially as you’re looking at comparisons drawn near the draft. Having said that, you should not expect Morant’s career to look exactly like the players listed. Each NBA star has their own path and Morant will carve out his own future.
Here are 3 NBA comparisons for Ja Morant.
Memphis Grizzlies PG Ja Morant and Russell Westbrook play nearly identical games
This was probably the most obvious comparison that could be made. Morant looks like a young Russell Westbrook out on the court, there’s no denying it.
They’re both explosive athletes who can play a wild game at times and struggle shooting the ball. They’re also both some of the most exciting basketball players that we’ve ever seen play the game. While Westbrook has already established himself as arguably the most explosive athlete to ever see the league, Morant is on his way there.
Since Morant is only in his second year, it’s most logical to compare these players’ rookie year stats. Here’s what they looked like:
Ja Morant: 17.8 PPG, 7.3 APG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 47.7% FG, 33.5% 3PT FG
Russell Westbrook: 15.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, 4.9 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 39.8% FG, 27.1% 3PT FG
As you can see, the stats look very similar. Morant has a distinct edge is points per game and field goal percentage, two things that likely compliment one and other. That being said, Westbrook’s shooting took the same distinct year two blow that Morant’s has.
Westbrook does hold the edge in steals per game and likely will finish his career with more steals than Morant. Overall, his size and power allow for him to be a better all-around defender, but Morant has the potential to be a better offensive player.
Memphis Grizzlies PG Ja Morant and Derrick Rose have some clear similarities in their game
Hopefully Ja Morant’s career takes a different path than Derrick Rose. That’s not a shot at Rose, but his career took a negative turn with multiple injuries that would stop him in his tracks.
Having said that, these two are very similar basketball players. Much like Westbrook, Rose is one of the most explosive athletes that the NBA has ever seen. His speed was unmatched by anybody in the league before his injuries and he was a huge leader for his Chicago Bulls team, much like Morant.
Rose would go on to become the youngest MVP in league history, so if Morant was able to follow his path, it would be ideal for the Grizzlies.
Once again, I’m going to compare their rookie seasons. Here is what each player’s stats looked like:
Ja Morant: 17.8 PPG, 7.3 APG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 47.7% FG, 33.5% 3PT FG
Derrick Rose: 16.8 PPG, 6.3 APG, 3.9 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 47.5% FG, 22.2% 3PT FG
It was actually shocking to compare these two stats. They’re nearly identical, which gives a lot of hope for Ja Morant’s career. If he can avoid injury, he could be the player that Derrick Rose was never able to become.
That being said, Rose also struggled with shooting, much like Morant and Westbrook. The difference here is that Rose played in an era where 3-point shooting wasn’t as important. Even though Morant holds the edge in that category, he still needs to improve his long-range shot.
Allen Iverson created a path for players like Ja Morant and Derrick Rose to succeed
If not for Allen Iverson, the NBA may not have looked twice at players like Ja Morant, Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose. Their games aren’t necessarily fundamentally sound, but their explosiveness allows them to guide their team to victory.
Iverson was arguably the first player like this. He was a point guard with a “don’t care” attitude before it was cool to be that guy. Morant may not draw many comparisons to Iverson, but these guys are very similar players.
Here’s what their rookie stats looked like:
Ja Morant: 17.8 PPG, 7.3 APG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 47.7% FG, 33.5% 3PT FG
Allen Iverson: 23.5 PPG, 7.5 APG, 4.1 RPG, 2.1 SPG, 41.6% FG, 34.1% 3PT FG
Those Iverson stats are not a typo by me, he was that dominant of a player in his first year in the league. Obviously, Morant hasn’t put up the same type of numbers, but he’s on track to get there at some point in his career.
You see similarities in their scoring numbers, assist numbers, and even field goal percentages. Morant may not be as lethal of a scorer as Iverson was, but there’s no reason why he can’t become that guy.
Iverson would go on to win league MVP, so if Morant can even find a sliver of the success that Iverson did in Philadelphia, the Grizzlies are in good hands.