Ja Morant

Projectable Skills

Athleticism/Explosiveness – High level athlete, fluid/fast in the open court, elite level verticality on the move. Can explode off 1 or 2 feet with fairly equal results. Elevates quickly, doesn’t need much time to gather and be above the rim, unique ability to elevate while on the move/maintaining speed. Fearless/confident athlete, unafraid to attempt difficult finishes. Solid burst/quickness, quick twitch athlete with the ball when motivated/going downhill. 
Body Control – Impressive awareness/coordination, able to adjust/contort body quickly around the basket. Uses hang time to keep plays alive/finish difficult adjustments. Creative finisher on the move, does a nice job using body control to avoid steals/blocks while in motion. 
Feel/Pace – Plays under control, doesn’t tend to rush things within the offense, has the green light, but uses it efficiently/wisely for the most part. There are instances where he could push the tempo a bit more due to his speed/athletic gifts, but tends to hang back and takes what defenses give him. Does a good job of not forcing shots, majority of FG attempts are ones he’s capable of converting. Impressive feel of when to look to score vs get teammates involved. 
Shooting Production/Upside – Improving as a shooter, solid shot mechanics, but will need some refining over time. Has range, projects to adjust to NBA 3pt lines, good confidence to pull-up from deep if defenders go under screens. Shooting consistency is improving, currently shooting 39% from deep on ~5.1 attempts/game (41 total attempts) during the month of January, up from ~23% in December, shooting 33% from deep on the season (4.7 attempts/game). Converting on 79.4% of FT attempts/game (8.2 attempts/game). Flashes the ability to pull-up quickly off the bounce, but needs to continue adding that to his arsenal. Has above average skills/foundation to work with considering a player with his athletic tools. 
Scoring Efficiency – Can put up points in a hurry, makes scoring 20+ points look easy. Shooting ~52% overall (15.4 total attempts/game) and 60% on 2pt attempts (10.7 attempts/game). Could look to be even more aggressive at times, has had multiple 30+ point games this season and is averaging 24.1 pts/game (up from 12.7 pts/game his freshman season with roughly the same amount of mins/game). Can score in a variety of ways (P/R, ISO, transition, cutting, etc.), very good (76th percentile) offensive player and averages .991 PPP. Generates an incredible 49.8 pts/game with combined scoring/assists (~58% of total team scoring) while maintaining efficiency (33.3 PER). 
Creating Ability/Passing – Aside from verticality, passing is his most translateable skill. Excellent passer/vision on the move, right handed player, but able to make pinpoint accurate passes off the dribble with his left hand. Knows when/where to place passes, will find cutters/shooters at the right moment for them to shoot or attack. Averaging 10.5 assists/game, up from 6.3 assists/game last season. Creative passer, does a good job breaking down defenses and finding the open man. Tough cover in P/R, can place the ball on the outstretched hands of a dive man on the move or softly lob it over the top. Unafraid to lob ball in the post from half court/beyond, soft touch allows him to float/drop the ball in over fronting defenders. Excellent timing on lob passes, timing/accuracy makes it easy for teammates to catch and finish. 
Dribbling Ability – Fairly tight handle, rarely gets the ball stripped/stolen. Good job changing/maintaining speed with the ball, dribble doesn’t appear to hinder quickness/burst. Wide array of counter moves, uses crossovers, hang dribbles, in and outs, and behind the back dribbles to generate space. Can have the ball on a rope in transition, quick/tight behind the back dribble from left to right appears to be a preferred move in transition. Comfortable handling the ball with either hand. Hard work on dribbling shows. 
Transition – Excellent (85th percentile) transition player according to Synergy, averaging 1.28 PPP. Can initiate the break as a playmaker or fill the lane as a finisher. Can change speeds and maintain control nicely, tends to slither his way past defenders and to the rim.  Aggressive taking it to the hoop, will score, draw fouls, or playmake. Eyes light up in the open court. 
Draws Fouls – Puts pressure on the defense, does a nice job of seeking out contact when attacking the basket. Averaging 8.2 FT attempts/game (career 80% FT shooter). Will extend arms and expose the ball when attacking, James Hardenesque move which baits defenders into fouling. Knock down FT shooter for the most part, shot 21-21 from the line in a game this season. 
Rebounding – Has mentality/athletic tools to crash the glass or chase down perimeter rebounds. High motor player on offense, can track his own miss, fairly quick 2nd jump. Averaging 5.6 rebs/game (career 6.2 rebs/game). Can improve overall rebounding consistency, but rebounds at an impressive rate for a PG. 
Defensive Upside – Shows flashes of being a capable defender, has quick hands/feet along with an offensive toughness that can be adapted to defense with coaching. Can play passing lanes, averaging 1.9 stls/game, good instincts, can convert defense to offense quickly. Has athletic/physical tools to improve as a defender. 

Improvement Areas

Strength/Length – Listed at 170 lbs, slender frame, balanced upper/lower body, but will need to bulk up in order to handle the demands/rigors of an NBA season. Can finish through contact/isn’t afraid to seek out contact at times, but lacks the strength to explode through defenders, hold his ground defensively, and round the corner on physical wings. May get fatigued or deal with small injuries until he adds enough foundational strength. Appears to have an above to slightly above average wingspan, makes up for it with verticality, but will hurt when defended by longer NBA players. 
Three Level Scoring – Explosive finisher around the basket and can stretch the floor, but lacks floater/midrange pullup ability. Rated poor (5th percentile) on runners via Synergy, averaging .333 PPP and has only attempted 12 total runners/floaters so far this season. Has potential, but will need to add this to his game at the next level. Better set or in rhythm shooter with space/time at this stage, shows flashes of ability to pull-up quickly, but needs to improve comfort level. Rated as average (47th percentile) on shots off the dribble with a 29.5 FG% (38.5 aFG%). 
Standstill Quickness – Fairly quick player, but lacks elite level burst/quickness within the half court. Needs some time/space to get downhill, can react quickly on the move, but struggles to blow by defenders in ISO and P/R switch situations. Can get steered around the court by less athletic/stronger defenders at times. Shows impressive glimpses of burst/quickness within the half court, but is something he can build on more consistently. 
Footwork – Solid overall footwork, but could use refining when it comes to pull-ups and attacking the basket in transition. Doesn’t have the cleanest euro-step ability, tends to extend his stride which limits his explosiveness/quickness, footwork slows down when trying to make a move at times. Can get off balance when pulling up for quick jumpers, mind can move faster than his feet. Not a long term concern, but is something that can use improvement. 
Turnovers – Gets a bit of a pass due to his high offensive load, but is currently averaging 4.8 TO’s/game. Fearless passing mentality can lead to unnecessary gambles at times. Can have the ball stripped when exposing it on his way to the hoop. The good outweighs the bad, but can cut down on turnovers in general. 
Defense – Not a strong defender at this stage, could be conserving offensive energy, but needs to show more consistency/fire on the defensive end. Small frame and average length limit his defensive versatility, will likely defend PGs and smaller SGs in the NBA. Lacks overall instincts, Ohio Valley Conference opponents fail to make him pay for sagging off or loosing his man, but the results will be different in the NBA with those mental lapses. Tends to give up ground too easily, could show more resistance/fight. Needs to improve as a help defender, slow to rotate or doesn’t flash help at all, can float in no mans land. Could improve ability to get skinny/fast through screens, slow to get around screeners which frees up space for open jumpers. Has potential, but will need to increase effort level in the NBA.