Ja Morant, the budding superstar for the Memphis Grizzlies, did not crack the Top 5 of a straw poll among members of the NBA media for NBA MVP.
The third-year guard out of Murray State has propelled the Grizzlies to one of the premiere teams in the NBA with the third-best record in the entire league.
Not only is Morant one of the premiere players in the league, averaging 26.8 ppg, 6.9 ppg and 5.8 rpg, he’s got his team performing way above anyone’s wildest expectations.
Memphis is 41-19 at the All-Star Break, a massive improvement from the 38-34 record they finished with last season.
Morant has the Grizzlies leading the NBA in rebounds, blocks and steals per game. Additionally, the team is second in the NBA in points per game.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant disrespected in MVP straw poll
ESPN polled 100 members of the media to vote for the NBA MVP as things currently stand nearly two-thirds of the way through the season. Voters are tapped Joel Embidd and Nikola Jokic as the clear-cut front-runners for the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Morant didn’t even crack the top five of the straw poll published by ESPN in advance of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, a game in which Morant will be starting.
Here’s how the voting ended, according to ESPN:
Joel Embiid
1st place votes: 45
2nd place votes: 38
3rd place votes: 12
4th place votes: 4
5th place votes: 1
Total Points: 789
Nikola Jokic
1st place votes: 43
2nd place votes: 39
3rd place votes: 8
4th place votes: 3
5th place votes: 2
Total Points: 754
Giannis Antetokounmpo
1st place votes: 9
2nd place votes: 14
3rd place votes: 56
4th place votes: 13
5th place votes: 5
Total Points: 512
Stephen Curry
1st place votes: 1
2nd place votes: 4
3rd place votes: 11
4th place votes: 31
5th place votes: 25
Total Points: 211
Chris Paul
1st place votes: 2
2nd place votes: 2
3rd place votes: 7
4th place votes: 21
5th place votes: 25
Total Points: 57
Ja Morant
1st place votes: 0
2nd place votes: 2
3rd place votes: 5
4th place votes: 13
5th place votes: 17
Total Points: 95
You’re telling me that the best player on the third-best team in the NBA is an after-thought? Maybe we shouldn’t fault these national media members, they probably haven’t seen any Grizzlies games because the league refuses to put the team in nationally televised games.
Even when they do, they could take the game off their schedule, like they did for the recent Memphis vs San Antonio game last month.
Expect Ja to attack the final weeks of the regular season with a fervor the likes of which you’ve never seen before. The only thing scarier than Ja Morant this season is Ja Morant with a chip on his shoulder.
You can watch Morant in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game Feb. 20 on TNT. The Grizzlies will resume their regular season play Feb. 24 at Minnesota.