The Hall of Fame is the most prestigious award in college basketball. After careful consideration and voting from NBA legends, here are the Top 25 players to ever wear a Kansas Jayhawk uniform.
The “how old is ja morant” is a question that came up in the NBA last week. Alex English, Hall of Fame basketball player and current ESPN analyst, gave Ja Morant’s Mid-Range Mastery an endearing endorsement.
The Memphis Grizzlies are the NBA’s newest darlings. After all, why not? They’re youthful, aggressive, personable, and entertaining to watch, and they have a standout player in Morant, Ja, a third-year point guard. This season, the 22-year-old has taken a giant step forward, dragging Memphis along with him. Morant, who was drafted second overall in 2019, is now an All-Star starter, an MVP contender, and is on the verge of signing a massive contract deal.
The Grizzlies are 36–18 in the Western Conference and have gone 25–8 since December 1. Memphis stunned the NBA with a 10–2 run in late November and early December, as Morant recovered from a damaged knee. The Grizzlies are 17–4 since dropping their first two games after the third-year pro returned. If something seems to be excellent, it is — as in best-in-the-NBA-for-that-period good. And, among others, Hall of Famer Alex English is keeping a careful eye on some of the jaw-dropping plays coming out of the Bluff City.
The Memphis Grizzlies aren’t like your elder brother’s Grit-n-Grind team.
*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden} html,bodyheight:100% img,spanposition:absolute;width:100% ;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyhe spanheight:1.5em;text-align:center;font:48px/1.5 sans-serif;color:white;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow
For the fourth time in club history, the Memphis Grizzlies made the playoffs in 2011. In the first round, the No. 8 seed in the West beat the San Antonio Spurs. Memphis ascended to the top of the league for seven seasons, reaching the conference finals in 2013. The team’s image was as authentically blue-collar as it gets. With Tony Allen, Marc Gasol, and Mike Conley, the Grit-‘n’-Grind Grizz outworked opponents and suffocated them defensively.
Memphis had just enough offense to win, thanks to Zach Randolph in particular. The core group’s decline was swift and painful as they grew older. Everything altered in 2019 because of a tipping point.
Taylor Jenkins, a protégé of Mike Budenholzer, was first employed by the Grizzlies. After that, Morant, Ja was chosen. Memphis traded Conley to the Utah Jazz and seemed to be on the verge of embarking on a lengthy rebuild. Last season, the Grizzlies took another step forward after a surprising appearance in the Orlando bubble ended in a play-in defeat.
Memphis beat the Spurs 9-10 in the expanded play-in round, then went on the road and beat the Golden State Warriors in overtime to claim a playoff place. After winning Game 1 in Utah, the Jazz went on to win the rest of the series four times in a row.
This season, the NBA’s fourth-youngest team ranks seventh in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and it isn’t afraid to take on anybody. Everyone is trash-talked by the Grizzlies. They sprint, fly, and win often.
Alex English, a Hall of Famer, was taken aback by Morant, Ja’s development.
.@JaMorant has worked on his game between the 3 point line and the basket. He has developed the part of the game that’s most beautiful. The midrange game. He hasn’t spent all of his time working on shooting the 3 like most @NBA players today. Love to see it.
— Alex English (@AlexEnglish_2) February 3, 2022
The NBA in the 1980s was not the same as the NBA in 2022. The Denver Nuggets were part of a fast-paced period in which teams ran a lot, scored a lot, and only defended once in a while. Alex English’s Nuggets led the league in pace with 112.1 possessions per game when he earned his first NBA scoring championship in 1982–83. 103.1 was the league average.
The mid-range was ruled by English. A shocking 2.5 percent of shots were made from beyond the arc. In 1982–83, the future Hall of Famer scored 2,326 points. Six of the points were scored on three-point attempts. From deep, he was 2-of-12. On almost 21,000 tries, he was a career 50.8 percent shooter inside the arc.
So if English is taking note of Morant, Ja’s mid-range game, it’s noteworthy. Inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the 68-year-old South Carolina native took to Twitter to praise another star from the Palmetto State.
English noted, “Morant, Ja has focused on his game between the three-point line and the basket.” “He has created the most gorgeous section of the game.” The game of the mid-range. He hasn’t spent all of his time practicing on his three-point shot, like most NBA players do these days. “I’d want to see it.”
When it comes to Morant, English is correct. The youthful point guard, on the other hand, has risen through the ranks at all three levels.
Morant, Ja’s ascension begins at the rim.
Morant, Ja’s incredible growth is a significant reason why the Memphis Grizzlies hold the NBA’s third-best record. | Rich Graessle/Getty Images
Let’s play “One of These Is Not Like the Others,” shall we? The following is a list of ten NBA players, ranked by their respective places on the list:
- Morant, Ja
- Antetokounmpo, Giannis
- Nikola Joki is a Finnish actor.
- Anthony Davis is a professional basketball player.
- Ayton, Deandre
- LeBron James is a basketball player from the United States.
- Allen, Jarrett
- Sabonis, Domantas
- Bam Adebayo is a Nigerian footballer.
- Poeltl, Jakob
There are eight big players in the lineup, as well as James, the ultra-versatile icon, and a 6-foot-3, 174-pound guard.
This season’s top ten scorers in the paint. Morant is the NBA’s leading scorer in the paint, averaging 16.0 points per game. You’re probably on to something if you believe he’s Allen Iverson’s generational successor.
In the restricted area, where he takes 31.6 percent of his shots, he shoots 70.7 percent. This helped him reach a career best of 52.7 percent from two-point range.
But he’s also become better with the long ball. His 34.2 percent shooting and 4.6 attempts per game aren’t quite on par with Stephen Curry’s, but they’re also career highs. Morant’s 52.4 percent effective field-goal and 56.6 percent true shooting percentages are also the highest of his career, according to advanced measures.
Jaren Jackson Jr. signed a four-year, $104.7 million contract deal with the Memphis Grizzlies last summer. Memphis must now make a choice on Morant. At 25% of the wage ceiling, a maximum deal would be five years and $181 million. However, an All-NBA selection this season (which seems to be a strong bet at this stage) greatly raises the cost of poker.
Based on next season’s cap prediction of $119 million, a supermax rookie deal for the burgeoning superstar is predicted to be worth $217 million. Morant told The Athletic’s Joe Vardon in October that he was not interested in leaving the Grizzlies.
The Memphis Grizzlies rose quickly with a young core including Morant, Ja, Jackson, Desmond Bane, and Dillon Brooks. It’s going to be fun to see what this group’s ceiling turns out to be.
Basketball Reference and NBA.com provided the statistics. Spotrac provided contract details.
RELATED: Morant, Ja Can Officially Add ‘Leadership’ to His MVP Resume
