Boston Celtics: 2 players in running with Jayson Tatum for “best under 25”

Player outside of Boston Celtics star, Jayson Tatum No. 2) Ja Morant

Speaking of MVP candidates…

All season long, but especially since Christmas, Ja Morant has been playing at an absurd level.

Through this most recent 30 game stretch, the third-year pro has been posting unbelievable averages of 30.6 points, 6.5 assists, and six boards on 51 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting from deep while seeing a 52 point performance on a whopping 73 percent shooting from the floor along the way.

While he’s always been known as an incredible finisher at the rim–something that he’s only continuing to improve on, and is converting on a breathtaking 71 percent of his attempts from this area of the court AS A POINT GUARD–, since entering the league he has proven to be far more than just a highlight reel type of player.

Coming into the association back in 2019, Morant (the No. 2 overall selection) was heading to a Memphis Grizzlies team that had just traded away their last remaining centerpiece from the early 2010’s glory days in Mike Conley and, as a result, were expected to be in contention for a bottom-dwelling position in the standings and yet another high-end lottery selection.

Instead, the Murray State product went on to will his team to a 34-39 record and a spot in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, all while winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award.

In year two, the rising stud became a budding star, as he upped his production in nearly every category, boasting averages of 19.1 points, 7.4 assists, and four rebounds per game while guiding his team to their first postseason berth since 2016-17.

Now, in year three, the budding star has managed to become a legitimate NBA All-Star and, like both Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic, is all but guaranteed to be selected onto an All-NBA team by season’s end. As a result of his maturation, the point guard has Memphis as owners of the second-best record in the entire league at 44-21.

Clearly, his track record shows that with time comes improvement.

Still just 22-years-old, as Ja Morant grows and continues on with his NBA career, one can only imagine how great of heights this man will wind up reaching, both literally and figuratively.