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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: Memphis’ first three baskets of the season set the tone for Ja Morant’s rookie year. They were all trays, all made by him, and the difficulty level increased each time.
It made them look easy that night. Made many look easy all season long.
Morant was announced on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) as the fugitive winner of the Rookie of the Year award for 2019-20, the first Grizzlies player to win the award since Pau Gasol in 2001-02. Morant averaged 17.8 points and 7.3 assists this season, winning three Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards along the way.
Morant received 99 of the 100 first-place votes. He said he wanted to thank the voter who didn’t have him at the top of his ballot “for motivating me even more.”
“It’s a blessing, definitely an honor,” Morant said in the televised announcement of the award on TNT, the trophy already at his side. “I put in a lot of work day after day. This journey has been difficult, but in the end everything is paying off. “
Kendrick Nunn of Miami was second and Zion Williamson of New Orleans was third. Nunn, who was not drafted, averaged 15.3 points in 67 regular-season games, all as starts, for the Heat. Williamson averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds, but the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft missed much of his rookie season while dealing with injury.
Williamson got the other first-place vote. Morant’s Grizzlies teammate Brandon Clarke was fourth in the vote.
Morant was second among all rookies in scoring, first in assists by a wide margin and led all first-year players in both starts (67, tied with Nunn) and minutes played (2,074).
The vote took place in July, before the season restarted at Walt Disney World. The games that ran through March 11, the day the league closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, were those taken into account by a voting panel of sports journalists and broadcasters.
Morant said he is already looking for ways to improve. He said his father, Tee, has already ordered a few more tires for his infamous workouts.
“I always feel like there is room for improvement,” Morant said. “I am looking to improve in all categories.”
Morant’s rise has been meteoric; Four years ago, he became engaged to Murray State as a guard that was not rated by the best national high school recruiting services. He averaged 12.7 points as a freshman, then entered the NBA draft after averaging 24.5 points and 10.0 assists per game, leading the nation, while winning first-team All-American status as a sophomore.
“How I got here was crazy,” Morant said on his draft night.
It doesn’t seem crazy that I’m here now.
“The sky’s the limit for you,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins told Morant.
Morant’s first 30-point game came in Game 3 of the season for Memphis, which earned a one-point win that night over Brooklyn with a 3-pointer that beat the bell of now-Miami forward Jae Crowder, with that score set by a pass from Morant.
That was the first of 28 games in which Morant would score at least 20 points. He reached double digits in assists 16 times, had a pair of triple-doubles and led the Grizzlies to the Western play-in series to determine the final playoff spot. Memphis lost the first and only game of that series to Portland, meaning the Grizzlies were just two postseason wins away.
“We’re there,” Morant said when the season ended with that loss to Portland. “There are only a few games left. We will just get back to work and prepare for the next season. “
