Morant's 2023-24 season was delayed due to a 25-game suspension for his off-court conduct. After getting cleared, Morant looked like his usual superstar self, averaging 25.1 points, 8.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks in 35.3 minutes across nine appearances. However, in his ninth game, Morant suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery, shutting the dynamic point guard down for the remainder of the campaign. Morant wasn't the only player who missed time for Memphis last season as the Grizzlies limped to a 27-55 record, their worst finish since 2017-18. Morant and company are expected to be at full strength by training camp and will have playoff expectations again. However, the Western Conference has only improved in recent years, so Morant will need to be at his best. Morant has only one top-50 eight-category finish in his career -- 46th place in 2021-22 -- and has more fantasy value in points leagues. However, there's no mistaking his talent, and he's the clear No. 1 option in Memphis. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a five-year, $197.23 million contract extension with the Grizzlies in July of 2022.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Morant was born in 1999 in Dalzell, South Carolina. As both a junior and senior at Crestwood High School, Morant earned South Carolina 3A All-State honors. He was also a three-time Region MVP. As a senior, he averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game. Morant finished as the school's all-time leading scorer (1,679 points). Check the South Carolinian out on Twitter (@JaMorant). As a sophomore, Morant was named to the All-America first team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches after the 2018-19 season. He was also pegged as the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year. The guard led the nation in assists in 2018-19 season with 331, which were also the sixth most in NCAA single-season history. Morant was also eighth in the country in average scoring (24.5 points) and ninth in double-doubles (20). He was also the MVP of the OVC Tournament after averaging 32.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists en route to the tournament title. Despite losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (to Florida), Morant tied an NCAA first-round record with 16 assists. As a freshman Morant was named to the All-OVC first and All-OVC Newcomer teams. Morant declared for the 2019 NBA Draft after his sophomore season. The Datzell, South Carolina native was drafted No. 2 overal by the Grizzlies.
Cleared for basketball activities
GMemphis Grizzlies
July 9, 2024
Morant underwent shoulder surgery in January, but he is fully cleared for all basketball activities this summer, CBSSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS Due to a 25-game suspension and a major shoulder surgery, Morant appeared in just nine games last season, during which he averaged 25.1 points, 8.1 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals across 35.3 minutes. The 24-year-old had successful surgery on his right shoulder in mid-January, and he is now officially cleared to resume all basketball activities ahead of training camp in the fall. Morant will aim to lead the Grizzlies back to the playoffs after a year ruined by a litany of injuries saw them finish with a 27-55 record.
2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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2022
2021
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2019
Stat Review
How does Ja Morant compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
57.0%
Effective Field Goal %
51.2%
3-Point Attempt Rate
30.0%
Free Throw Rate
37.6%
Offensive Rebound %
2.0%
Defensive Rebound %
15.8%
Total Rebound %
8.6%
Assist %
42.2%
Steal %
1.0%
Block %
1.5%
Turnover %
9.0%
Usage %
0.0%
Fantasy Points Per Game
44.9
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.3
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Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Grizzlies Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Ja Morant was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Morant is coming off a frustrating season, which he began in amazing fashion, including earning his second All-Star selection, before picking up a nine-game suspension in March after brandishing a gun on Instagram live. Things got even tougher for the talented young guard, as he suffered a wrist injury in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, which caused him to miss the next game and remain limited for the rest of the series, which the Grizzlies lost in five games. Unfortunately, the drama did not end there, as Morant was once again seen flashing a gun on Instagram live in the offseason and as a result was handed a 25-game suspension by the league, effective at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Additionally, the Grizzlies underwent a significant change at the point guard position, as they said goodbye to Tyus Jones and brought in Marcus Smart as part of a three-team deal soon after news of Morant's suspension broke. Smart will surely be expected to carry the load while Morant is out, but when the All-Star guard is eligible to return, it is mostly a guarantee that he will take the reins of the offense and be ready to produce back at a top-tier level. Some of Morant's best performances from the 2022-23 season included a season-high 49 point outburst in a win over the Rockets, eight triple-doubles, and 12 more double-doubles. If Morant can keep his focus, he is likely to pick up where he left off and shine as one of the league's top point guards.
Morant made a massive leap forward in production last season. After averaging 19.1 points and shooting 44.9 percent from the field during the 2020-21 season, he averaged 27.4 points and shot 49.3 percent last season. His usage rate skyrocketed to 33.7 percent, and he dazzled on a nightly basis with his ability to finish at the rim. He wasn't just a scorer, either, providing 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. However, two red flags cap his fantasy upside. First, he only shot 76.1 percent from the free-throw line -- an area where you usually need stellar production from a guard in fantasy to help offset the deficiencies of some forwards and centers. Second, he was limited to 57 games because of injuries. Injury risk comes with using an early-round selection on Morant due to his high-flying, reckless style, but when he's on the floor, he's one of the most valuable fantasy assets out there.
The 2019-20 Rookie of the Year, Morant's numbers took a step back last season. He ranked 74th in per-game fantasy production as a rookie, with that number dropping to 114th in 2020-21. The main culprit was his decreasing efficiency. All of Morant's shooting percentages fell, with the point guard hitting just 44.9 percent of his field goals and 72.8 percent of his free throws. He's also not a positive in the three-pointers (1.2) or steals (0.9) categories. Obviously, Morant's 19.1 points and 7.4 assists per game were excellent, but his real-life reputation far outweighed his fantasy value last season. That said, it's clear that Morant has what it takes to be an elite point guard. His performances in the play-in games and five playoff contests were fantastic. In his final seven appearances, Morant averaged 29.4 points, 7.6 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 2.4 threes across 41.3 minutes on 48/37/73 shooting. Morant will need to find a way to become a consistent three-point shooter and stat-accumulating defender to make a massive leap as a fantasy player, but he absolutely has the talent to do it. Plus, he's already proven he can be a nightly 30-and-10 threat with a below-average jumpshot. Based on pure upside, Morant will be a popular selection, potentially as high as the third round, but fantasy managers must be cognizant of the holes in his stat profile over his first two NBA seasons.
The 2019-20 Rookie of the Year, Morant had one of the best first-year point guard campaigns in recent memory. Helping carry a team with extremely low expectations, the Murray State product averaged 17.8 points, 7.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game. He also shot well all around, hitting 47.7 percent of his field goals, 33.5 percent of his 2.7 three-point attempts per game and 77.6 percent of his free throws. Morant also supplied an impressive 15 double-doubles and two triple-doubles in his 67 appearances. Now it's up to Morant to build upon increasingly high expectations in 2020-21, which won't be easy in a Western Conference that appears to be as stacked as ever. The rookie finished with a per-game, eight-category fantasy rank of 63 last season, with his most obvious weakness being three-point shooting, where he converted only 0.9 per contest. Morant was also relatively average on defense, combining for 1.2 steals-plus-blocks. Fantasy managers who are banking on those improvements -- or even improvements elsewhere -- will certainly select Morant higher than he was valued last season, and it wouldn't be surprising if his name was trending in the late-third to early-fourth rounds of most drafts.
Morant will presumably take over the Grizzlies' starting point guard spot, which was vacated as a result of the trade of Mike Conley to the Jazz. Morant, the 2018-19 OVC Player of the Year and Consensus All-American, averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals across 36.6 minutes last year with Murray State. He's lauded for his athleticism and playmaking ability, but an underdeveloped jumpshot and tendency to turn the ball over could be a cause of early struggles in the NBA. Rookie point guards can often get off to a rough start, but fantasy owners should be confident that the rookie will have a big role with the Grizzlies right out of the gate, and Memphis is likely to let Morant get plenty of reps considering the team's rebuilding status. Morant makes for a safer pick in points leagues, where a potentially troublesome field-goal percentage and lack of threes won't damage his fantasy value.
More Fantasy News
Will be cleared in near future
GMemphis Grizzlies
Shoulder
June 23, 2024
Morant (shoulder) said Saturday he will be medically cleared for basketball activities in about two weeks, CBSSports.com reports.
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Still not close to full strength
GMemphis Grizzlies
Shoulder
April 15, 2024
Morant (shoulder) will be fully cleared for basketball activities halfway through the offseason, Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian reports.
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Gets shoulder surgery
GMemphis Grizzlies
Shoulder
January 11, 2024
Morant underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder Thursday and will be out for the remainder of the 2023-24 season, Chris Haynes of Turner Sports reports.
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Needs season-ending shoulder surgery
GMemphis Grizzlies
Shoulder
January 8, 2024
The Grizzlies announced Monday that Morant will miss the rest of the 2023-24 season after an MRI revealed a labral tear in his right shoulder that will require surgery.
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Won't play Tuesday
GMemphis Grizzlies
Shoulder
January 8, 2024
Morant (shoulder) will not play in Tuesday's game against Dallas.
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ANALYSIS "Everything is going well," coach Taylor Jenkins said Tuesday when asked about Morant's recovery. "Ja is the only one when June rolls around, he's going to be pretty close to full go on the court. Everything that everyone was dealing with towards the end of the season is in a good place right now." Morant missed the first 25 games of the season due to an NBA suspension and averaged 25.1 points, 8.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds in nine appearances before being ruled out for the rest of the campaign due to a labral tear in his right shoulder. He'll aim to be at full strength by training camp in October.