Ja Morant 'deserves' Rookie of the Year over Zion Williamson
Nicholas McGee
May 21, 2020 17:55 MYT
May 21, 2020 17:55 MYT
Ja Morant believes he deserves to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award over Zion Williamson.
Morant was selected second overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2019 NBA Draft, with Williamson having gone first to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Williamson, who played just one season of college basketball at Duke before declaring for the draft, was the heavy favourite for Rookie of the Year honours going into the season.
However, Williamson suffered a torn meniscus in October, delaying his professional debut until January.
But he has been spectacular since returning from injury, averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists per game. Williamson has shot 58.9 per cent from the field and 46.2 per cent from three-point range.
Zion Williamson is the first teenager in NBA history to score 35+ points and shoot 75% or better from the floor in a game.@PelicansNBA #WontBowDown — Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) March 2, 2020
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Morant, though, has the advantage of playing 59 games to Williamson's 19 during this season, which has seen him average 17.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
He has shot 49.1 per cent from the field and 36.7 per cent from beyond the arc.
His performances had Memphis in the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference when the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking on Bleacher Report's 'Take it There with Taylor Rooks', Morant was asked if he felt like it should even be a close race for the award.
He replied: "Nah, I feel like I've done enough. I deserve it.
"I feel like my play this year proved all that. Had a great season so far. This corona stopped that short a little bit."
Ja Morant of the @memgrizz had a +42 plus/minus in tonight's win over the Knicks. That's the best +/- by a rookie since Mehmet Okur was +46 for the Pistons on January 31, 2003 at Boston.#GrindCity — Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) January 30, 2020
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The prevailing sentiment among NBA players appears to be towards an eventual resumption of the 2019-20 season, rather than ending it prematurely.
Asked if he had spoken to anybody who feels the opposite, Morant said: "I haven't talked to anybody who hasn't wanted to play.
"I'm sure everybody wants to except for teams probably not in the playoffs."