Nevertheless, Morant appears to have put all his demons in the rearview mirror; the Grizzlies star marked his return in the best way possible, dropping a floater over Herb Jones to take home a 115-113 win against the Pelicans at the buzzer.Given how shambolic Ja Morant’s reputation has become due to his slew of off-court incidents over the past year or so, the Grizzlies star reminded everyone how big of a star he truly is on the hardwood.

“I’m a dawg. I’m a dawg. I put the work in [day-in], day-out,” the Grizzlies star told TNT’s Stephanie Ready during his immediate postgame interview before getting swarmed by his teammates, via ClutchPoints Twitter (X).

Ja Morant is clearly putting his pre-season ESPN ranking to shame, as it’s clear that his impact for the Grizzlies goes beyond whatever he puts up on the stat sheet or whatever efficiency metrics analysts love to judge him by. Morant is a leader on the court, and his mere presence elevates the game of everyone else on the team.

Facing a stacked Pelicans team that had all its heavy-hitters, including Morant’s 2019 NBA Draft classmate Zion Williamson, active on Tuesday, the 6-19 Grizzlies had their work cut out for them. The Pelicans also boasted the services of a few perimeter defenders that are capable of slowing down Morant as well, with Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado ready to serve as annoyances.

Morant wasn’t in peak form yet as well, as he’s been away from the game for quite some time now; so for him to drop 34 points, six rebounds, and eight assists to carry the Grizzlies, a team that’s playing on the second night of a back-to-back, to victory is nothing short of a “I got that dawg in me” moment.

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