The Grizzlies are preparing to enter a season of transition after trading away Desmond Bane for a return of draft picks and rotational pieces. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. face the pressure of becoming a dynamic duo, but various outlets don't believe in the tandem, including the NBA 2K video game ratings.
An early leak revealed that Morant and Jackson Jr.'s overall rating ranked them in the top 30 of NBA players, which checks out with where they should be ranked when different variations of player rankings are released in the coming months. Morant's 92 rating ranked him in a tie for 16th with Kyrie Irving, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley.
Jackson Jr.'s 90 overall rating ranked him in a tie for 24th with Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, Paolo Banchero, and James Harden. However, individual ratings in strength areas for the Grizzlies' star had the fanbase in an uproar for different reasons.
Ja Morant ranked 2nd in driving dunk
Just a couple of weeks ago, he made a dunk that had NBA fans clamoring for him to make an appearance in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest again after dazzling a crowd in China while on his Nike tour. However, NBA 2K ranked him just below another high flyer in Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards.
Edwards has taken the leap to superstardom during the last two NBA seasons, while Morant has battled injuries and suffered setbacks in his production. Despite this, Morant's dunking ability is widely considered the best in the league as he just earned the 2024-25 NBA Fan Favorites Award for his reverse dunk against the Boston Celtics in December last year.
Anthony Edwards has some amazing dunks in his repertoire that rival Morant's, and his rating was only one point higher, but not ranking them at least tied for first was perceived as a slight towards the Grizzlies' superstar. Maybe both players will eventually enter the NBA Slam Dunk Contest to settle the score once and for all.
Jaren Jackson Jr. didn't crack top 10 of shot blockers
The former Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) winner has ranked in the top 10 in blocks per game in five of his seven seasons in the NBA, including leading the league in blocks in back-to-back seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23). Jaren Jackson Jr. has fallen from 3.0 blocks in his DPOY season in 2023 to 1.5 last season, but still ranked in the top seven of average shot blockers last season.
Not only was he not ranked among the top 10 shot blockers in NBA 2K, but his ex-teammate, Jay Huff, ranked ahead of him at number 10. Jaren Jackson Jr. might be considered overrated by some national pundits, but he is proving to be underrated in the areas he excels at, and this proves just that for the two-time NBA All-Star.