The 2022-23 NBA season has presented us with a lot of wonderful sights, and we’re barely halfway through the year. We have seen a scoring explosion unlike any in the past 15 seasons. We have two highly competitive conferences. The East is led by a young Jayson Tatum, followed by the dynamic duo in Brooklyn. As for the West, we have 2x MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets at the top, and Ja Morant and co. follow closely.
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Tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies hosted the Phoenix Suns and handed them a 136-106 bashing. Ja led the way for the young Grizzlies, scoring 29 points and dishing seven assists.
After their game tonight, Ja had unexpected praise from another NBA legend. On Inside the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal talked about the Grizzlies and Ja.
Shaquille O’Neal believes Ja Morant should be in the MVP conversation
Not too long ago, Ja Morant made us all drop our jaws with his emphatic slam over Jalen Smith.
EVERY ANGLE OF JA MORANT’S UNBELIEVABLE DUNK OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE 😱📽️ pic.twitter.com/8u1j6ZNH3F
— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2023
Tonight, he put on a show again against the Pheonix Suns. After seeing what he did, Shaquille O’Neal decided to shower Ja with some love.
Shaq says Ja Morant deserves to be mentioned in the MVP conversation.
“This kid is an exciting player, he can do it all…wasn’t no high draft pick, wasn’t really talked about in high school, but the kid can flat out play.”
Thoughts? 🤔pic.twitter.com/ZACkFhrZMy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 17, 2023
Shaq is right about the fact that Ja needs to be in the MVP conversation. He’s been leading the Grizzlies since his rookie season, and over the last season and a half, they have been one of the more successful teams in the league. Currently, Ja is #7 on the MVP ladder, which just goes to show the amount of brilliance in the league.
However, the part about not being a high draft pick, I sure hope Shaq meant no high ranking in high school. He had national attention by the time he enlisted for the Draft, and was selected as the #2 pick in the 2019 Draft.
How far can the Grizzlies go this year?
The Memphis Grizzlies were eliminated in the first round in the by the Utah Jazz in the 2021 Playoffs. In the 2022 Playoffs, the Golden State Warriors kicked them out in the second round. If we go by the trend, the Grizzlies should make the WCF.
Alright, jokes aside, the way the Grizzlies are playing, they sure seem like a team that is going to cause trouble in the playoffs. However, calling them championship contenders right now will be premature.