Ja Morant gets an enormous amount of praise from Stephen A Smith as the analyst claims he’s box office, unlike NBA greats like Tim Duncan.
Advertisement
Ja Morant has been nothing but spectacular during the Playoffs throughout his young career. The 22-year old has played in merely 13 games in the postseason and has already dropped 47 points on two separate occasions, with the first time being in a loss to the Utah Jazz in last year’s Playoffs in just Game 2.
Morant’s averages during the Playoffs stand at an impressive 27.8 points and 9.4 assists a game, all while shooting 45% from the field. His efficiency did go down a bit this year but that has to do with the fact that he’s yet to develop a reliable shot from the outside and defenses are sagging off him at times, daring him to shoot.
This didn’t work last night however as he rained in five 3s in a Game 2 win over the Golden State Warriors after having made just 4 shots from beyond the arc in 6 games against the Timberwolves.
Also, the fact that Ja Morant is officially ‘The Man’ on the Grizzlies and this being his first year being defended that way in the Playoffs has something to do with the fact that his efficiency isn’t all too great.
Stephen A Smith on Ja Morant and his marketability.
Ja Morant seems to be paving the way for a new age of NBA superstars who are constantly on social media, interacting with fans, controlling narratives, and when on the court, being as present as possible. The marketability that Ja possesses, everything from his trash-talk to him doing the griddy, is something that can’t be taught.
Stephen A Smith being a guy from New York and loving the Knicks, knows exactly what it’s like for a a star to be extremely marketable. His Knicks were unfortunately a pick away from drafting Ja Morant in 2019, something he regrets to this day but this doesn’t stop him from giving the Murray State alum his flowers.
According to Smith, Ja Morant has the ability to transcend into more than just a superstar, that being the face of the entire league. He compares Morant to Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, two relatively low-key guys with all the talent in the world but not enough marketability.
Ja has been generating views as if he were an established veteran like Steph Curry and LeBron James and he’s merely in his 3rd season. Stephen A correctly points out here that to be the face of the NBA, you need to be marketable. And Ja is all that and more.
