G – Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies)
In my opinion, there’s a good chance that Morant would have been an All-NBA selection if it wasn’t for his off-the-court issues and subsequent nearly three-week-long absence from the Grizzlies. However, I still feel like Morant would have been a worthy selection.
On the year, Morant averaged 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 8.1 assists across 61 games. He shot 46.6% from the field (although just 30.7% from deep) while leading the Grizzlies to a 51-31 record and the #2 seed in the West. While some detractors will point to the Grizzlies having a winning record without Morant in the lineup (11-10), the team still had a 40-21 record (.656 winning %) when he played. Not too shabby.
The Grizzlies were also the only top-three seed in either conference to not have a player make an All-NBA team. On one hand, that speaks to the club’s depth, but on the other hand it makes you wonder whether they should have had someone make it.
Morant’s snub is also costly financially, as it will cost him $39 million. His rookie extension (that he is heading into year one of next year) will remain a 5-year, $194 million deal. If Morant had made an All-NBA team this year, it would have escalated to a 5-year, $233 million extension.
While it was going to be tough to make All-NBA as a guard, Morant was the first guard left off (and third highest vote-getters among all players who didn’t make it). Morant received 10 second-place votes and 14 third-team votes from the 100 voters. Morant is a previous one-time All-NBA team selection, earning 2nd team honors last year.