Ja Morant Number: How Grizzlies Star Donned Michael Jordan’s Number Due to a Beloved Nets Roleplayer

Ja Morant may only be 23 years old right now. But, with the quality he has consistently shown on the court, the man is clearly on track to have a hall-of-fame career. And during his journey to achieve this incredible feat, the man will obviously quite a few young minds within fan circles. In fact, we’d say he’s achieved that to quite a degree already.

When this happens for an athlete, the number they were can often become synonymous with their identity. And sure, enough, when you see ‘12’ now, it’s hard to get the image of Morant out of your head.

However, what if we told you that he almost ended up wearing a completely different jersey number in the NBA? And that it was all due to the Nets’ most beloved roleplayer, Yuta Watanabe?

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Ja Morant revealed that he had a conversation about #12 with Yuta Watanabe as soon as he was drafted

Ja Morant may love to trash-talk every opponent in the world. But, when it comes to his teammates, the man couldn’t be more giving. And that is something he has had for a long time.

So, when he was drafted by the Grizzlies in 2019, the man wasn’t looking to force his will on anyone. But, as he once explained, Yuta Watanabe generously gave him the number anyway.

Here is what he had to say on the matter as per Commercial Appeal.

“I wasn’t going to force it or anything… I think that all goes to Yuta (Watanabe) honestly, for giving me that number.”

The Grizzlies star then revealed that he and Watanabe were talking as soon as the day after he was drafted at #2 overall by Memphis. He then added the following.

“First it was him congratulating me on everything… Then we got into the number talk or whatever. I just told him I didn’t want to mess anything up for him. He was like ‘Oh nah, it’s okay, and if you want number 12, you can get it.’ Thanks to Yuta.”

At the time Yuta Watanabe has just finished his own rookie season with the Grizzlies, playing in 15 games during the 2018-19 season. So, it’d have been understandable for him to be begrudging on the topic. After all, you can give a single thing up while you’re still looking to stake your claim in the NBA.

But, because the now Nets player was selfless, Ja Morant was able to continue wearing his number at Murray State, in the NBA. And because of that, we wonder if the young man eases up a little bit whenever he faces off against Yuta.

 

Why does Ja Morant wear the #12?

Admittedly, the athlete hasn’t given an answer just yet. The closest thing available to an answer to this is that he wore the number during his time at Murray State as well.

However, our best guess is a different reason entirely. After all, while Ja Morant has made the number his own, he isn’t the one that made it iconic.

33 years ago today, MICHAEL JORDAN wore #12 because his jersey was stolen.

Security searched the ORL crowd & MJ reportedly wanted the game delayed until it was found.

He scored 49 (21/43 FG) in the loss
The jersey was found days later in the ceiling pic.twitter.com/kiS0VoqUlz

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 14, 2023

During his time with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan most popularly wore #23. However, the man was once forced to change it up for a single game.

Why? As it turns out, ahead of an NBA game, someone had stolen Jordan’s jersey from the Bulls locker room. And having no replacements available, the legend up and decided to wear #12 instead.

Players donning the number due to this story is hardly a rare occurrence. And so, it is possible that Ja Morant wears it across his chest and back for the very same reason.

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