The Memphis Grizzlies have a legit franchise superstar on their hands in Ja Morant. He’s gotten better each season he’s been in the NBA and this year he has emerged as a legitimate MVP candidate. As of now, the numbers that Morant is putting up are on par with LeBron James in the 2009-10 season when James won his second MVP Award as per the Twitter page StatMuse.
Ja belongs in the MVP convo.
— 27.6 PPG
— 6.7 RPG
— 7.9 APG
— .739 win percentageOnly one other player has ever put up those PPG/RPG/APG with a .700 record — LeBron in his 2010 MVP season. pic.twitter.com/jZnOjcjFX4
— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 16, 2022
On the season, Ja Morant is putting up 27.6 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three-point range. He’s getting to the free-throw line about nine times a game and knocking them down at a 73.8 percent clip. During LeBron James’ 2010 season, he put up 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists.
In addition to the numbers, Morant has led the Grizzlies to a 19-9 record and they currently sit in first place in the Western Conference standings after recently overtaking the New Orleans Pelicans. Morant has played in 23 games for the Grizzlies this season and led them to 17 wins giving the team a 73.9 percent winning percentage when he suits up. In comparison, James played in 76 total games for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2009-10 season and the Cavs won 60 of those games giving them a 78.9 percent winning percentage when James played.
Last season was Morant’s first time being named to the All-Star team and it’s safe to say he’ll make his second appearance this season. And who knows, depending on where the Grizzlies finish he might be taking home an extra piece of hardware.