Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Memphis Grizzlies‘ rebuild is ahead of schedule in 2021. Prior to the season, a young team without their second-best player was expected to compete, but nothing more.
Ja Morant had other plans.
The second-year star at the point guard position did things that nobody expected him to do in his second season. For starters, he scored 44 points in the first game of the season in a Grizzlies loss, one of the highest totals in franchise history.
He carried his team to the NBA Playoffs when, with all due respect to Memphis, this roster had no business even sniffing the playoffs.