IN PHOTOS: Duke Basketball debuts Ja Morant’s latest Nike JA 1 PE shoes
Ja Morant has made his return to the NBA following his 25-game suspension. As he's attempting a fresh start, Morant has had Nike releasing his first signature shoe, the Nike Ja 1. On his season debut on Dec. 19, he debuted the Nike Ja 1 'Xmas'.
Morant has been one of the top stars in the NBA who is under contract with Nike, and it appears that NCAA players also wear his signature shoe. Duke university, a legend in NCAA, took to Instagram and posted some images with its players wearing the Nike JA 1 PE during a game.
Ja Morant, Grizzlies have to play with a sense of urgency if they want to save the season
The return of Ja Morant led the Memphis Grizzlies to a four-game winning streak, but the franchise continues to struggle despite having its megastar back. The Grizzlies have lost three in a row and six of their last 10 and are stil miles away from the final play-in spot.
Memphis has won just 10 of its 32 games and trails the LA Lakers, who hold the final play-in spot, by six games (10-22 to 17-17). Thus, Ja Morant and the Grizzlies understand that they have to play with a sense of urgency to avoid having a losing season and getting eliminated from the playoffs.
"We try to win every game we play. So that's our mindset no matter what happened before. I mean it's a different ball game when I'm out there. Teams got to scout different and have defensive schemes when I'm on the floor, which allows a lot of pressure to get off the rest of the guys on the team. Allow them to be themselves," Morant said, via Sports Illustrated.
"It's going to be tough. Around this time, it's a lot of games. ... It's tough to be able to have that practice time. You don't want to tear down the players' bodies too much, so obviously it's going to be a process," the All-Star guard said heading into Tuesday's home game vs the San Antonio Spurs, via NBA.com.
The Grizzlies should be in a position to get back on track against the Spurs, who have the second-worst record in the league with five wins and 27 losses. For his part, Morant has appeared in six games and averaged 25.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 7.8 apg.