What All-NBA honors truly mean for Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies
The 2021-22 All-NBA teams were released on Tuesday night, causing a stir amongst Memphis Grizzlies fans. Star point guard Ja Morant was named to the Second Team All-NBA, but that wasn’t enough for some fans and even one teammate. Morant joins Grizzlies legends Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph as the third player in franchise history […]
The 2021-22 All-NBA teams were released on Tuesday night, causing a stir amongst Memphis Grizzlies fans. Star point guard Ja Morant was named to the Second Team All-NBA, but that wasn’t enough for some fans and even one teammate.
Morant joins Grizzlies legends Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph as the third player in franchise history to receive All-NBA honors. Morant averaged 27.4 PPG to go along with 5.7 RPG and 6.7 APG. Had he been healthy for the entirety of the regular season changes could have been made, but by playing in just 57 games the NBA got it right.
The third-year pro out of Murray State also took home the award for the NBA’s Most Improved Player. Most people felt that a player of Morant’s caliber did not belong as a candidate for the award, feeling as though he was more of an MVP candidate. Morant passed it along to teammate Desmond Bane, who should have been nominated as a finalist in the first place.
However, Morant wasn’t the only Grizzly bringing home hardware.
Jaren Jackson Jr. was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team. The 6-11 forward took a massive leap on the defensive side of the ball in 2021-22. Snubbed from the Defensive Player of the Year finalists, it was refreshing to see the NBA rectify its mistake after Jackson led the NBA in blocks (177) this season. Jackson joins Tony Allen as just the second Memphis player to receive the honor.
While these lists are constantly debated over the course of the offseason, there is no debating the aforementioned Morant and Jackson’s spot on either team.
If the tandem could trade in their individual accolades for a shot in the Western Conference Finals, they would do so in a heartbeat. However, the injury bug can bite anybody. Just like it did Morant when Memphis had Golden State on the ropes in the Western Conference Semifinals.
A team as young as the Grizzlies were this season typically takes a while to mesh and grow together in an NBA system. But there is nothing typical about this group of guys.
Though the season came to anticlimactic finish, Grizzlies fans will have tons to look forward to over the next decade. If these awards mean one thing, it’s that the league respects what is developing in Memphis under head coach Taylor Jenkins.
The individual awards feel like a consolation prize for a team that dominated the regular season the way that the Grizzlies did. With a couple of tough decisions to make on players like G Tyus Jones and F Kyle Anderson in the offseason, Memphis will begin to assemble a team capable of bringing the only award that matters to Beale Street in 2022-23 – the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Featured image via Joe Rondone – USA TODAY Sports
