“Why isn’t Jaren Jackson Jr. on your leaderboard?!”: Ja Morant raises an alarming question as the latest DPOY leaderboard is revealed

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant questions the omission of teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. off a certain NBA ladder

 

You probably don’t need us to tell you this. But, dang have the Memphis Grizzlies been incredible this season!

Ja Morant and the crew have been picking off team after team, winning 12 of their last 13 games. Each and every player on this team contributes massively on both ends of the floor, contributing to each win. But, like Ja Morant spearheads this team on the offensive end of the floor, Jaren Jackson Jr. has been rising in prominence as their figurehead on the defensive end.

With that in mind, it’s natural for the Ja and the Grizzlies to believe that JJJ should be in the running for Defensive Player of the Year. However, when the star player found out that wasn’t the case, he had one very simple question in mind.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

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Ja Morant puts out a tweet questioning the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. from the latest Defensive Player of the Year ladder

Right now, the Grizzlies stand tall as the 3^rd seeded team in the Western Conference right now. And as we said earlier, Jaren Jackson Jr. has been a major part of it. This is why Ja Morant recently put this out on Twitter.

The man is one of the best shot-blocking bigs in the NBA right now. He has a defensive rating of 104.8, which refers to the number of points a player lets up per 100 possessions.

Now, we will say that the top 3 from this ladder in Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert and Giannis Antetokounmpo all have better defensive ratings at 98.8, 100.7, and 102.9 respectively. However, things change when we come to the outside 5.

While Joel Embiid (104.6), Evan Mobley (104.0), and Jarred Vanderbilt (103.3) all have better defensive ratings than Jaren Jackson Jr., Dejounte Murray (106.6) and Myles Turner (106.6) are a different case entirely.

Given that they not only have worse defensive ratings, but their teams are also lower down in their respective Conferences, with Spurs at 12^th, and Pacers at 13^th, there is a valid argument to be had that JJJ should be above them.

Sure, there are other factors that come in here too. Still, it seems Ja Morant may have a point after all.

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