The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Utah Jazz in a seemingly irrelevant regular-season game, but this was a significant meeting between Donovan Mitchell and Ja Morant.
The two young stars played to the best of their abilities. The Jazz managed to outplay the Grizzlies as they managed to stifle Morant to an unflattering stat line of 11 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Meanwhile, Mitchell had a solid outing, finishing with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. It was obvious as to which player managed to lead his team to victory.
However, that didn't deter Mitchell from finding Morant, talking a bit with him, and trading jerseys with him.
๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ค pic.twitter.com/uB68xCqjzT
โ Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 30, 2019
The fact that they exchanged throwback jerseys makes the image all the cooler. That doesn't outshine the mutual respect the two young stars have for each other, though.
Mitchell wasn't shy in admitting his admiration for Morant's game, saying that he likes what the guard is doing on the court.
โIโm a fan,โ Mitchell said, per Memphis Commercial Appeal's David Cobb. โI told him that.โ
He also didn't forget the dominant display Morant had when they first met earlier this month. Morant, who finished with 25 points and eight assists that game, left a mark on Mitchell.
โSeeing that as a rookie โย a guy that wants to come in and take those shots and be able to make those plays, itโs huge,โ Mitchell said. โFor that team especially.โ
Morant is the runaway favorite to win Rookie of the Year. He's putting the team on his back, averaging 19.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 6.6 assists on 47% shooting. Thanks to him, there's an exciting brand of basketball brewing in Memphis. Should Morant continue to trend upwards, there's no reason why he wouldn't face Mitchell in the playoffs in the coming years.
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