National Basketball Association

Ja Morant stakes claim as NBA's next great PG in domination of Lakers

Published Oct. 25, 2021 3:50 p.m. ET

Even the Lakers' most famous point guard had to give it up.

Magic's Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 121-118 on Sunday at STAPLES Center after Ja Morant missed a game-tying free throw with 1.9 seconds left.

The miss opened the door for Carmelo Anthony to make two from the charity stripe on the other end and shut the door on Memphis.

But that's about all Morant did wrong on the evening.

The Grizzlies' third-year PG scored 40 points and dished out 10 assists against LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Lakers' well-known roster, proving that he's not only ready to stomp with the big dogs but also ready to stomp on them.

Less than a week into the season, Morant is having his way with the opposition. He's tied with LA Clippers superstar Paul George atop the points per game leaderboard, putting up a whopping 35 per night. His 40-point outburst Sunday came one night after he dropped 28 on the Clippers and a few nights after he dropped 37 on the Cavaliers.

No wonder George had such high praise for Morant over the weekend.

Comparing Morant to a former league MVP such as Derrick Rose is not a small deal, and at the same time, it's not an inaccurate statement.

Both won Rookie of the Year and were members of the All-Rookie Team. Through his first two seasons, Rose averaged 18.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 48.3% from the field and 24.2% from distance.

In his first two seasons, Morant put up 18.4 points, 7.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 46.3% from the field and 31.7% from deep.

Making Morant's numbers and play even more praiseworthy is the fact that he's also dishing out 8.0 assists per night and shooting 44% from 3 and 58% from the field.

And even though it has been only three games, and those numbers will undoubtedly dip as the season progresses, fans can bank on continuing to witness Morant's highlights.

The highlights are otherworldly.

On Monday, "First Things First" cohost and FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard said he was in awe of what he saw from Morant on Sunday, contending that Morant — not New Orleans' Zion Williamson — is the class of the 2019 NBA Draft.

"This is no shade on Zion Williamson, his former AAU teammate, who went No. 1 in that draft," Broussard said. "When Zion plays and is healthy, he's tremendous. But we know there are questions about his health. Even when Zion plays, though, Ja has more of an impact on the game.

"For him to lead the Grizzlies to the playoffs last year? Even Steph Curry didn't do that [last season] in the deep West."

Morant might have endeared himself to the NBA community even more when after the game, he took himself to task for missing that final free throw.

Here is how the social media world reacted to Morant's spectacular showing: