Ja Morant has agreed to a five-year contract extension as a designated player with the Memphis Grizzlies that could net the All-NBA point guard up to $231 million. according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Morant pretty much confirmed the deal on Twitter.
Morant’s $193 million maximum salary during the contract period will increase by $38 million if he makes a second All-NBA team or becomes the league MVP next season. The NBA’s Favorite Young Player is worth every penny.
Morant, who turns 23 in August, averaged 27.4 points (on 49/34/76 splits), 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 33.1 minutes in 57 games last season and led the Grizzlies top league record with 56 wins. Morant suffered a bruised right knee midway through the second round of the playoffs as his Grizzlies trailed eventual champions the Golden State Warriors in a series they lost 4-2.
Morant’s arrival as the No. 2 overall in 2019 changed the fortunes of Memphis from a franchise trying to carve its way out of the rubble of the grit-and-grind era to a team now embracing the brazen athleticism of its emerging superstars. The Grizzlies don’t give you anything because Morant wants to take everything and often does.
Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant made the All-NBA second team in just his third season. (Thearon W Henderson/Getty Images)
The Grizzlies also signed all-defensive first-team forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to a four-year extension worth $105 million last October, locking in two fundamental pieces for a championship contender. Memphis is teeming with young talent thanks to a front office that has excelled in player ratings.
This particular decision was a no-brainer. Morant has the potential to become the greatest player in Grizzlies history, and he wants to play in Memphis, which isn’t always the case with rising stars and small markets.
“I’m definitely happy to be here,” Morant told reporters when asked about his upcoming renewal at his exit interview in May. “Memphis is my home. …if yours [question] is: ‘Do I want to be in Memphis?’ Damn yes.”
Morant’s buzzer-beater in the middle of a 52-point game in February was the most viewed Instagram video in NBA history, a testament to the point guard’s Stephen Curry-like popularity with young fans.
The story goes on
We now have to wonder if Morant can join Curry in the pantheon and if Jackson and Desmond Bane become the Grizzlies’ Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. If not, can Morant recruit star players to Memphis? The Grizzlies just bought into the 2027-28 season to find out all about it.
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Ben Rohrbach is a senior editor at Yahoo Sports. Do you have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach