Ja Morant Is the N.B.A.’s Newest Phenom

Richard Mackson/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

LOS ANGELES — Ja Morant grabbed a seat in the gymnasium bleachers at a Los Angeles-area high school following practice with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday afternoon. It was a rare moment when he was not in motion. A rookie point guard, he tends to play with the smooth, relentless rhythm of ocean surf.

Morant just keeps coming — at defenders, at the basket, at the lofty standards he sets for himself — and he has already done a good deal to validate the Grizzlies’ selection of him with the No. 2 pick in the N.B.A. draft. Entering Saturday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, he averaged 17.5 points and 5 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field…