The Memphis Grizzlies are trying to endure, but a reprieve will arrive soon as Ja Morant's return is almost here.
The star guard was suspended for 25 games by the NBA for flashing a gun on an Instagram Live, a few months after he was suspended for the same reason.
Ja was the team's number-one scorer and assist man last season, and he is sorely missed.
The Grizzlies are struggling this season, and the absence of the fiery guard is greatly missed. They are dead last in points per game with 106.4 and 27th in assists department.
This is why coach Taylor Jenkins can't help but be excited about the return of his star player.
"I expect him to be full go come Game 26," Jenkins said. "He's really excited. He understands the process that's gotten him here."
Morant will make his 2023-2024 season debut on Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He is just in his fifth year, but he already collected many electrifying plays that one can say are humanly impossible.
Ja Morant's highlight reel consists of plays that virtually no NBA player can replicate.
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Top 5 most memorable plays from the two-time All-Star:
1. Two-handed block vs Lakers that defied gravity.
Most NBA players can jump high. However, none of them probably has the timing that Morant has.
The Grizzlies stunned the basketball world with his gravity-defying block on Avery Bradley during their game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bradley tried to make a lay-up after stealing the ball from Morant, but the latter would not give up. He timed his jump perfectly; what happened next was something the league hadn't seen before. Ja grabbed Bradley's shot with two hands, almost hitting his head on the board.
It is impossible to think that another player can do what he did.
2. Morant's buzzer-beater is the NBA's most-viewed IG clip.
Outside shooting is what many analysts and critics point to as Morant's weakness, but the kid is just not afraid of the moment.
NBA's most viewed Instagram video was his buzzer-beating shot against the San Antonio Spurs on March 1, 2022.
It was not a typical buzzer beater, though. It was an acrobatic-like shot that only a player of Morant's athleticism can do.
Steven Adams inbounded the ball from the other end of the court and threw it straight to his star point guard on the other end. Morant caught the ball in a difficult corner of the court, but it did not matter as he was still able to put up a shot and convert the buzzer-beater.
STOP IT, JA 😱
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/EWXNnTuwI1— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 1, 2022
3. Chase down block on Jalen Green.
Morant's height is smaller than Lebron James, the man who got a library packed with chase-down block videos, but again, his timing is impeccable.
The Grizzlies' franchise player showed he could go way up, just like the Lakers star with his chase-down block on Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green in October 2022. It was an aerial clash between the two young guards.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME JA MORANT?! pic.twitter.com/O8gEp2bIuB
— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) October 22, 2022
4. Nasty poster dunk on Aaron Baynes.
This list will not be complete without a Ja Morant dunk.
Morant announced his arrival in the most iconic way possible on December 11, 2019, with a nasty poster dunk on Aaron Baynes of the Phoenix Suns.
Baynes is not a bad defender, and dunking on him takes a lot of courage. Morant, again, is not the type who fears defense. He jumped so high that Baynes' height and wingspan advantage did not matter. The rookie devoured him.
5. Missed dunk on Kevin Love.
Yes, it is a missed dunk, but this is probably the NBA's greatest missed dunk.
The dunk was so audacious that Kevin Love thought his career was going to be ended by the electrifying guard.
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