Apr 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) walks down the court in the third quarter of game two of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Ja Morant Take Issues NBA Reminder About the Grizzlies

Originally posted on Fastbreak on SI | By Justin Grasso | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 3:18 PM ET

When it comes to the Memphis Grizzlies, a lot of their success has been centered around Ja Morant.

Seeing how the Grizzlies have been with and without Ja Morant in recent years, it’s clear just how valuable the high-flying Memphis star is.

Heading into the 2025-2026 NBA season, former NBA veteran Jeff Teague made one thing clear: He will only watch the Grizzlies if Morant is playing moving forward.

Discussing the state of the Grizzlies, Teague let off an unfiltered take.

“Memphis is a cool team to watch when Ja Morant is playing,” the ex-guard said on Club 520. “When Ja’s not playing, like, please don't put Memphis on TV.”

Since 2019, Morant has been one of the most exciting players in the NBA when healthy. After going second overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, Morant started 67 games off the bat during his rookie effort.

Seeing the court for 31 minutes per game, Morant averaged 17.8 points, 7.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game. By year three, he averaged 27.4 points and 6.7 assists per game. Since then, Morant has consistently averaged over 20 points and seven assists throughout each of his seasons played.

As successful as Morant has been, he’s also had a lot of ups and downs. His availability has been a concern, considering he hasn’t played in more than 65 games since his rookie season.

Two years ago, Morant saw the court just nine times. Last season, he appeared in 50 games with the Grizzlies, averaging 30 minutes on the court.

Last year, the Grizzlies won enough to notch a winning record in the absence of Morant. They went 18-14 in the 32 games he couldn’t play. While that was a step in the right direction, there wasn’t a major improvement from the 40 percent win percentage from the 2023-2024 season.

Memphis is a long way from the 2021-2022 season, when they shockingly went 20-5 without Morant. As they work on regaining their footing in a challenging Western Conference, Morant will be key to their success.

And since Morant remains one of the most exciting stars when he’s healthy, the Teague mindset makes sense when it comes to the Grizzlies. The same can probably be said about most teams across the NBA.

Morant is set for his seventh season in 2025-2026. At this point, he has appeared in 307 games, averaging 22.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. He’ll be looking to pick up his third All-Star nod.