“Ja Morant views himself at the highest level with the top players in the league, just like I did”: Damian Lillard justifies selecting the Grizzlies star as the younger player he sees himself the most in

Portland Trail Blazers leader Damian Lillard selects Ja Morant as the one younger player he sees himself the most in.

Ja Morant is one of the top young players in the NBA. Despite being only 22-years-old, the Memphis Grizzlies high-flying guard has already established himself as one of the best guards in a league full of elite playmakers. Constantly making strides in his game, year after year, Ja will surely be one of the future faces of the league.

After an exceptional sophomore year, Morant has been absolutely phenomenal to start his third campaign. As expected, he is leading his young team from the front, while putting on some berserk numbers.

Averaging 24.1 points, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game, on an improved 47.6/35.6/77.7 shooting split, Morant could very well be playing in his maiden All-Star Game this season. And despite being only 6-foot-3, the former ROTY is 4^th in the league for points in the paint (14.1 ppg). The next guard on the list? 6-foot-7 Luka Doncic placed 20^th on the list with 10 points per game.

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Damian Lillard reveals why he picks Ja Morant as the younger player he sees himself the most in

Damian Lillard is one of the best and most experienced guards in the league. And his matchups with Ja are always entertaining to watch. Having played 7 games against each other, it’s Dame who has won 4 games, while outscoring the youngster 24.7-23.6. However, Morant has not only outrebounded (5.7-3.9) but has also out-assisted (8.9-7.7) the Blazers guard.

Despite their fiery battles, the two have the utmost respect for each other. Quite often, Damian has termed the Memphis prodigy as his favorite young player to watch. And more recently, Lillard had some more praises for the athletic guard, by naming him as the player Dame sees himself the most in.

The sharpshooter complimented:

“Mentality-wise I think Ja Morant… Early in his career it’s like he views himself at the highest level with the top players in the league. And that’s how I felt!”

.@Dame_Lillard 🤝 @JaMorant

(via Reddit) pic.twitter.com/hxT2dEwbci

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 4, 2021

As soon as he saw Lillard’s comments, Morant was quick enough to react to it.

RESPECT 💯🤝 @Dame_Lillard

— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) December 4, 2021

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The two already faced each other once early this season, which was an impressive duel. Luckily, we will be witnessing three more Morant-Lillard matchups this regular season.