The gift of Ja Morant

He reminds us all just how special the game of basketball can be.

To watch Ja Morant play basketball is joy.

The greatest contributions he makes to these Memphis Grizzlies, beyond the highlight dunks and elite passes and finishes at the rim that were on full display in Detroit against the Pistons Sunday night, is a feeling that got us all interested in sports to begin with. What was possible…

Morant’s physical gifts should be utterly impossible. He doesn’t jump - he levitates. He doesn’t run - he explodes. The human body is fragile…limited. Able to be taken down and out with the simplest and most random of things. But you’d never find that possible while watching Morant leap and bound, standing out and beyond almost all of his peers. You appreciate the remarkable fact that among the greatest athletes in the world, Ja’s star burns brighter.

But regardless of how you were introduced to this game, an even more impressive feat is that beyond the athletic attributes Morant himself permeates throughout the entire Memphis Grizzlies franchise. Once undesirable, playing in side AAU gyms and at mid-majors, now Ja seemingly has the entire basketball world watching to see what unbelievable act he makes seem common next. But if watching closely, you see more than even the entire court that Morant is dominating more and more with each passing game.

His confidence and swagger are audacious and undeniable and are unquestionably part of the Memphis Grizzlies psyche. The unconquered mentality that no matter what you think of his dancing, his calls for smoke and chimney climbing, or his interactions with officials that have frustrated him, he is unapologetically him. That toughness can help to mask most flaws. While they may still shine through - and Morant is not a perfect player - they allow overcoming those shortcomings that we all have varying versions of to be less limiting.

And the last thing that comes to mind when watching Ja Morant is limitations.

There may be better basketball players in the National Basketball Association. This has been arguably the greatest start to an NBA season in decades when you consider the displays of talent night in and night out. Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum…the list goes on and on of dominant performers. There are players that match Morant’s impact strictly between the lines of the court, and Ja could be better when it comes to his shooting percentages, especially at the rim where he thrived last season.

But when it comes to sparking your basketball imagination as to what the game can evolve to moving forward…Ja is one of one.

The gift of Ja Morant is that sense of wonder that we all had when we were children. Regardless of upbringing, there were parts of this world that were so awe-inspiring to us that no matter how simple, we would stop, stare, and create in our minds how they worked. Came to be. As we age, we learn that all things come to an end. Beauty is finite. Resources, time, money…all come and go and pass on. Being cynical about a rapidly changing world almost seems part of growing up.

But for two or so hours, every time Ja Morant steps on the basketball court, we can truly allow for our minds to wander back to a time where there were simpler truths. All the numbers, all the analysis…it can fade away for a moment and we can remember what it was to be young. To believe in the impossible.

And imagine what is yet to be.

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