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

What will it take for Ja Morant to become the MVP of the league next season?

Ja Morant’s third-year leap into true superstardom was undeniably special.

He led the Memphis Grizzlies to the second-best record in the NBA, got named an all-star starter in his first ever appearance, and even took home the 2021-22 Most Improved Player award.

These eye-popping stats, as well as still averaging 6.7 assists a night, made him the sixth player in NBA history to average at least 25/5/5 before turning 23 years old. Who are the other five you might ask? Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic— historic company.

The remarkable season from 22 year-old Morant was good enough for him to finish seventh in MVP voting last year.

The question is: What has to happen for Ja Morant to crack the top three and ultimately 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.

If Ja Morant unlocks his jump shot, he could become unstoppable on offense

Health will certainly be crucial in Ja Morant’s quest for Most Valuable Player, but another key factor that would take his game to another level is his ability to score at all three levels on the court on a consistent basis.

His ability to score in the paint is unlike any guard the league has ever seen, as he became the first to ever lead the NBA in paint points per game since the stat started being tracked.

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Out of his total 20.6 field goal attempts per game, 14.9 came from in the paint. His layup package is elite, as well as his ability to slither around defenders and his out-of-this-world athleticism to rise up and dunk on anyone who tries to challenge him at the rim. His ability to stop on a dime and shoot floaters with both hands over a defender in the paint also helps him be so productive down low. As dominating as he is scoring inside though, his shooting numbers could definitely improve, especially from midrange.

Although Morant only averaged 1.2 midrange shot attempts per game, he shot 26.1%. This was a huge drop-off from his 2020-21 numbers, as he shot 42.9% on 0.9 midrange attempts per game. This shows that he is capable of adding a consistent midrange game to his arsenal, and is definitely working to do so this off-season.

He improved his three-point percentage by four percent last season, shooting 34.4%. He looked the most comfortable letting them fly from the corner, as he increased his percentage from 26.9% in his second season to 42.3% last season. This is an amazing sign of improvement and shows if he can make another leap shooting the ball from outside in 2022-23, he will become even more of a nightmare to defend.

Ja Morant’s MVP chances are tied to Memphis Grizzlies’ success as a team

Last year, the Memphis Grizzlies took the league by storm, tying a franchise record in winning 56 games and having the second-best record in the NBA.

The scary part about that for the rest of the NBA is that they were the second-youngest team in the association, with an average age of 24 years old. Guys like Ja himself, as well as Desmond Bane, Ziaire Williams, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all have one more year of experience under their belts, and all have real potential to take another step in all aspects of their game next year.

With that being said, there is definitely a potential for the floor spacing to improve from last season. The Grizzlies were bottom eight in the NBA in three-point attempts and ranked 17th in three-point percentage. The potential of Ziaire Williams, Dillon Brooks, and Jaren Jackson Jr. to all shoot better from three, the return of Desmond Bane, Tyus Jones, and John Konchar, and the additions of proven college shooters Jake LaRavia and David Roddy affords the Grizzlies a chance to greatly improve their spacing.

If Ja Morant can average 27 points and almost seven assists while living in the paint with cluttered floor spacing, then imagine the crazy numbers that he could put up with the floor opened up for him.

Especially with Jaren Jackson Jr. expected to miss some time at the beginning of the season, most fans around the league expect there to be some sort of a drop-off in wins from last year.

Ja Morant will be expected to step up to fill the massive hole that will be left in the rotation, and if he leads the team to a good record during that time period, then he will definitely be in the conversation for the award early in the year. When things are said and done at the end of the season and the Grizzlies are right back near the top of the West, then there would be a real chance for him to take home the award.

If Ja Morant stays healthy, takes another step in shooting the basketball, and leads the Grizzlies to home-court advantage in the playoffs, then there is a real chance that he could become the first player in franchise history to be named NBA MVP.