Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant is a shoe-in to win the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, but if somehow Zion Williamson takes home the honors NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is going to be absolutely irate.
When discussing the Morant vs Zion Rookie of the Year race, Barkley says (H/T Bleacher Report's David Gardner): "I wanna say this about Zion Williamson. He’s an amazing kid from a distance. He’s been a great jolt of energy for the NBA. *BUT* if they screw Ja Morant out of this Rookie of the Year thing, I’m going to be really pissed, and I’m going to blow a gasket on TNT."
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Zion is doing his very best to make things interesting down the stretch, but it's highly unlikely he'll overthrow Morant at this point so Chuck's gasket is probably safe.
In the 19 games since making his NBA debut on January 22nd, Zion leads all rookies in points and rebounds per game with 23.6 and 6.8, while Morant has averaged 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and a rookie-leading 7 assists per game in 58 appearances.
There's still an outside chance that Zion's Pelicans can make the playoffs over Morant's Grizz, which would certainly help his case, but NOLA would have to make up four games over an 18-game stretch to close out the season. And even if Zion appears in each of those 18 contests, he will have only played in a total of 37 games this season and there's simply now way that's enough to earn the ROY award, right?
Although, it might be worth it just to see Barkley lose his shit on live television.
Ja Morant Reacts To Rookie Of The Year Race With Dismissive Energy
Ja Morant was the clear frontrunner for rookie of the year before Zion Williamson showed up.
Ja Morant came into the NBA with a chip on his shoulder and he has easily been one of the league's most impressive players, early on. The Memphis Grizzlies star has put his team in a playoff position with just over 20 games to go in the season. It remains to be seen whether or not the Grizzlies will get there but so far, so good.
Morant is one of the frontrunners for the Rookie Of The Year trophy although if you had asked anyone about a month ago, it would have been clear that Morant should win. Now, Morant is facing stiff competition from Zion Williamson who has been brilliant in his first 15 games. There seems to be a real debate as to who should win the award but according to Omari Sankofa of The Athletic, Morant couldn't care less.
“I honestly don’t care about Rookie of the Year. They can give that to who they want," Morant said. This answer is certainly open for interpretation in the sense that he could either really not care, or he would rather focus on something else because, in actuality, it's bothering him. Regardless of what his reason for feeling this way is, there is no doubt he will most likely come away with the ROTY trophy, especially if his team makes the postseason.
Who do you think should get rookie of the year? Let us know in the comments, below.
