Ja Morant is in danger of the same career trajectory as Derrick Rose

Nov 27, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) drives to the basket on New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (4) during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images | Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

At 26 years old and two years removed from his second consecutive All-Star appearance, questions are starting to ramp up regarding whether the NBA has already seen the best of Ja Morant.

In 2022, Morant was not only a guaranteed top-three point guard in the league, but he also accomplished one of the most impressive feats in NBA history. He led the league in interior scoring as a guard. He was the first guard to do it in 25 years. 

Now, most would agree that Morant is not even in the top 10 for point guards anymore. This drastic change in public opinion is supported by his consistently decreasing production after multiple suspensions and the fact that he has only played in 69 games over the past three seasons. On the Hoop Collective podcast, Tim MacMahon breaks down how Morant’s return from his most recent injury is nearly a completely different player stylistically.

“Listen, my GPA was 2.3,” MacMahon said. “That’s more than the attempts Ja Morant had in the restricted area tonight out of 18 field goals. He has right around 30 percent of his field goal attempts, you know, when you look on the NBA shot chart, it’s the restricted area plus. It’s that little circle they have around the hoop. He’s got less than 30 percent of his attempts coming from there. In his heyday, his two All-Star seasons, it was like 53 percent coming from there.”

Ja Morant is showing shades of Derrick Rose in a very negative way

Nov 7, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) shakes hands with head coach Tuomas Iisalo (obscured) during a substitution in the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Through 10 games, Morant is averaging 19.2 points, 7.9 assists, and 3.8 rebounds on 35.8 percent shooting and 14.8 percent from three-point range. While most of those are career lows, the most significant one is his 44.8 percent from two-point range. 

While he still has most of his athleticism at this point, Morant's career trajectory is looking very similar to Derrick Rose's. Tim Bontemps explains why the comparison will continue to haunt Morant until he leaves the Grizzlies.

“We were talking about it the other day, it reminds me a ton of Derrick Rose,” Bontemps said. “It’s a very similar career arc to Derrick Rose, and after Derrick’s injury, it was never quite the same. He was a good player. He had moments where he was very effective, but it never really got back to the first couple of years he had in the league again. And the end of his tenure in Chicago feels a lot like where things are in Memphis.”

Rose won an MVP at his peak, and Morant was receiving MVP votes during his All-Star seasons. Despite Morant not having a devastating injury like Rose did, his reliance on his struggling perimeter shooting and decreasing production at the rim will continue to plague him until he makes a change to revert back to who he once was.

His next chance to get back on track is tonight, as the Memphis Grizzlies take on the New York Knicks.

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