Ja Morant is out for 'revenge' this season, says Shams Charania

When Western Conference contenders are discussed for the upcoming NBA season, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks are mostly mentioned. All four teams were rated as the West's top four candidates to reach the 2025 NBA Finals in NBA.com's annual survey of general managers.

For Ja Morant, the perceived slight of his Memphis Grizzlies can serve as additional fuel to keep the fire burning inside the two-time All-Star guard.

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Now that he has put his off-court problems and resulting suspension behind him, Morant will be driven by a singular motivation, according to ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania — payback.

"I think what we're going to expect from Ja Morant is a revenge type of season," Charania said on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday. "People have been kind of forgetting about him."

Morant missed the first two months of the 2023-24 season due a 25-game suspension for repeatedly brandishing a firearm. His return lasted only nine games after suffering a torn labrum, and the Grizzlies stumbled the rest of the way to a disappointing 27-55 record.

While Memphis went into decline, other West teams with promising, young talent blossomed, namely Oklahoma City, the conference's top seed with a 57-25 record behind MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Minnesota, which finished third in the conference at 56-26 thanks to ascendant franchise star Anthony Edwards.

Still, it's somewhat surprising the Grizzlies are being overlooked. They finished second in the West in back-to-back seasons with 56 wins in 2021-22 and 51 victories in 2022-23.

The narrative that Memphis is being slept on was somewhat confirmed when the GM survey included Morant as a candidate for a breakout season. An irked Morant tweeted, "Respectfully ... why I'm on here?"

Morant's agent, Mike Miller, told Charania: "How soon they forget?"

"Ja Morant was arguably the face of the NBA at one point," Charania said. "Kevin Durant and other players said this was the future star of the NBA, the future face of the NBA.

"I do think he (Morant) is going into this year really believing, like, 'It's my time, and I'm going to take back what's mine.'"

"His focus, from everyone I've talked to around Memphis, it's been there this offseason," Charania added. "He knows what time it is, and he wants to be back at the top."

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