Ja Morant became the latest player after LeBron James and De’Aaron Fox to condemn the idea of this year’s All-Star Game.
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Ja Morant has been absolutely amazing since he stepped on the court in his first year. During his first year, he participated in the Rising Star Challenge. Only in his 2nd season, he can do one better, and participate in the All-Star weekend playing in the All-Star Game.
Although Ja Morant could be one of the Western Conference guards to make it to the All-Star Game, he has voiced his disinterest in playing it. The former Rookie of the Year joins LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and many more stars, who have disapproved the idea for an All-Star game this year.
Morant had a 15-points, 11-assists performance in the 130-114 win over the Hornets. Post the game, Morant said:
“I feel like the superstars in this league are guys who I feel like have some pull. Being LeBron (James), Giannis (Antetokounmpo), Kawhi (Leonard), I totally agree with what they said.”
Ja Morant could be the first All-Star from the Grizzlies since Marc Gasol in 2017
From the first return from fan votings, Ja Morant received a whopping total of 257,743 votes. He is fourth leading Western Conference guard in terms of votes, only behind Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard. If Ja Morant manages to make it as a player of the All-Star game, he would become Memphis’ first selection since Marc Gasoline in 2017.
Ja Morant is 4th among West guards in the first fan returns for NBA All Star voting. Huge gap between him and Damian Lillard but still, 4th is impressive. pic.twitter.com/Wu1CN1wJ4Q
— Evan Barnes〽️ (@evan_b) February 4, 2021
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Ja Morant had declined to participate in the Slam Dunk competition last year. This year too, he made his opinions very clear about not participating in the dunk contest by saying:
“It’s a no for me.”
The All-Star Game isn’t the priority for certain players at that the moment. Making the playoffs and having a great impact on their team would rather be on their minds.
Currently, Ja is averaging 18.3 points, 7.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game. He is leading the young Memphis Grizzlies squad to a .500 10-10 record to place them in the 9th spot of the Western Conference.
