Congratulations to Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies on winning the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year award.
His Story
Morant was drafted second overall out of Murray State by the Memphis Grizzlies. Murray State was largely unknown heading into the 2019 NCAA March Madness tournament. It had been garnering national attention due to Morant’s explosive brand of basketball. Recording just the ninth ever triple-double in NCAA tournament history with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 16 assists. Morant was able to help push Murray State past Marquette for a convincing first-round upset.
The young star’s breakout season would end in a disappointing loss, but certainly not by any fault of his own. Morant would post 28 points and chip in a handful of both rebounds and assists. It was just simply not enough as Florida State would roll on past the Racers, ending Morant’s chance to lead a Cinderella run before it could even begin.
The Draft
Morant would quickly be seen as the top rookie of his class once it was announced that Zion Williamson would not make his debut until approximately midway through the 2019-20 season. He saw the open door and ran for it, running away with top rookie honors in the process. Morant would maintain his stranglehold on the rookie hardware from basically the very first day of the season, and claimed Rookie of the Month honors for (October) November, December, and January.
Morant’s debut was an overall solid performance. He put up 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, and even made an impact on the defensive end, chipping in one block and one steal. Morant’s debut showed that he will be the main building block for Memphis going forward, though he had not truly put his star power on display to this point.
Memphis would dazzle in his third game of the season on the back of a 30-point performance (career-high) from the Murray State standout. In addition to his scoring, Morant also had his playmaking on display as he dished out nine assists. Once again making plays on the defensive end, Morant would gather one steal and one block on the night to go with his first taste of victory at the NBA level.
Excitement Begins in Memphis
Certainly capable of bringing the excitement each night, Morant allowed his play to speak for him as he made flashy pass after flashy pass and providing poster-worthy dunks (and near-dunks) all season long.
Hit or miss, the ROY @JaMorant is not afraid to challenge a big man at the rim 💥 pic.twitter.com/uycHHuDN4w
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 4, 2020
Morant can score with the best of them. He had a nearly 18 point-per-game rookie season (highest of all rookies not named Zion Williamson). Morant and Kendrick Nunn were also the only rookies to break 1,000 points for the season, however, Morant’s passing is where he truly shines. He finished the year averaging more than seven assists (10th highest per game average for 2019-20) a night and was the only rookie to finish in the top ten for total assists with 488 dimes. The next closest rookie was Darius Garland (229) of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Channeling his inner Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, the future of explosive and super athletic point guards is in good hands with Morant at the helm.
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Main Image Credit: https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/ja-morant-sixers-memphis-grizzlies-nba-rookie-of-the-year-20200207.html
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