Memphis Grizzlies: What has to happen for Ja Morant to win MVP in 2022-23?

How Ja Morant can make the MVP leap in 2022-23

The first and most important factor in Ja Morant being in MVP contention next season is his health.

A topic that is often brought up when talking about Morant’s game is that he will not be able to live in the paint and take so much contact for a long period of time without sustaining injuries. When taking a look at his three-year career thus far, he has been more healthy than the common fan would probably think.

In his first two seasons in the league combined, he only missed 15 total games. Adding last season to the mix, in the possible 227 career regular season games that he could have played in, he has logged minutes in 187 of them.

Last season was the least healthy season of his career, as he missed 25 games in the regular season due to multiple injuries. The first occurred on November 26 against the Hawks, in which he sprained his left knee nine minutes into the game and had to be helped to the locker room. This tweak made him miss a total of 12 games, as he returned to action in late December.

He experienced another tweaked knee at the end of a game against the Hawks on March 18. Prior to that game, Morant was listed fourth in the MVP race by NBA.com, only behind Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Although this was not deemed anything greater than just soreness, it forced him to miss nine more games, which squandered any chance that Ja had at winning the award.

This was definitely an act of precaution from the Grizzlies, as they had practically clinched the two seed in the West, but if the slight knee injury never occurs, there could have been a chance for him to have snuck into the top three.