Be it among the faithful followers of the Memphis Grizzlies organization or any other sports fandom, there will eternally be debate as to how players should be measured against one another and theoretically ranked according to predetermined values and metrics to highlight their value.
With the 2024 postseason gradually inching closer to an end, The Ringer has released a power ranking of top talents in the league under the age of 25, which naturally includes controversial and confusing rankings of certain players.
The list, which primarily ranks players based on foundational qualities, current and future performance potential, intangibles, and marketability, has a rather bizarre structure to it.
On this list, star point guard Ja Morant finds himself in the 10 slot after a rather uneventful season that saw a mix of injuries and disjointedness completely derail the Grizzlies from their preseason hopes.
Despite the lack of success this season, it would seem a stretch to put Morant all the way down in the tenth slot overall, as the young stud has found a level of success even at a young age that clearly stands out among his peers, yet analysts making measurements based on certain metrics seem to disagree.
While the NBA is loaded from top to bottom with talent, there has been a noticeable surge in recent years of younger players establishing dominance over the old guard, who find themselves facing an ever growing horde of talented newer players who seem to be ever evolving and picking up newer skills and moves.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant unjustly ranked 10 on ‘Next Gen’ list
With all of that being said, Morant still stands out among his young peers and the idea of him being ranked tenth is laughable. While his most recent season leaves a lot to be desired considering he was held to just nine games played, there are still plenty of reasons to stay hopeful about the star point guard, and even more reasons to rank him higher than where he currently is.
Along with an obvious trend of recency bias in the rankings, several of the picks who were ranked higher than Morant will undoubtedly raise some questions, and several eyebrows and will puzzle readers who have watched Grizzlies basketball and understand Morant’s position and potential.
In particular, there were four names who, though certainly promising, should by no means be slotted in ahead of the Grizzlies cornerstone.
Paolo Banchero
Paolo Banchero, recently drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick just two short years ago, has been on the rise despite having minimal fanfare compared to other recent first-overall picks — of course, competing with the likes of Zion Williamson and Victor Wembanyama is tough in itself.
Banchero presents himself as an unselfish frontcourt player with excellent athleticism and mobility and possesses post moves that continue to see refinement from game to game. The forward saw himself further grow this year after averaging a respectable 22.6 points per game which aided the Magic in securing their first playoff berth in four years.
Although their playoff run ended after falling short in the first round, losing a crushing Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the franchise should be optimistic given how many young and freshly drafted players performed at a high level and continue to grow.
Despite this success in making the playoffs, and in Banchero’s record-setting night during the aforementioned elimination game, it’s still questionable at best to rank him higher on a prospective list over Ja Morant.
Although Morant’s sample size for the past NBA season is slim, it would be overly optimistic to immediately crown Banchero as a stronger prospect.
The growth of Banchero’s game is an easy green flag to spot, and the fact that the team made it to the postseason is an achievement in itself after several lackluster (and lack of) postseason runs since the turn of the last two decades, but airing on the side of caution would do good for Magic fans.
While there is clearly more improvement to be made, Banchero still has yet to assert himself as the linchpin for a team the same way Morant has for the Grizzlies — With Banchero still finding his footing playing alongside the likes of Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, the hope will be for him to emerge as a frontcourt leader rather than someone who opts to defer said responsibility.
This expectation and bar is set at a reasonable height that would see Banchero possibly surpass Morant as a next-gen prospect, but until it comes to pass it feels rushed to give him a seat at a table that had been declared vacant as soon as Morant’s season was disturbed.
Jalen Williams
After an impressive season that saw Williams’ OKC Thunder secure the number one overall seed in the Western Conference standings, all eyes turned to the fierce young squad that looked to continue its regular season rampage through the postseason.
Near the front of the charge alongside MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams cemented himself during the season as both a crafty and swift offensive player after averaging 19.1 points on an impressive 59.2 effective field goal percentage.
As a second-year player, Williams provides the Thunder with key intangibles and components necessary to propel a team to a championship: tenacity, vision, and the willpower to continue battling even with fellow star players on the bench.
While his impressive sophomore season should by no means be downplayed, as he was an integral piece to a team that looked like it could compete at the highest level, there is also an obvious tinge of recency bias when it comes to ranking Williams higher than Morant.
Benefiting from the most recent year’s results helps to propel Williams’ case for being an up-and-coming two-way player, but it would be irresponsible to ignore the fact that the young forward plays on a team that is quite stacked.
To add to the fierceness and vigor that Williams brings to the table, there is also the presence of superstar point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was quite literally in the top-three in MVP voting, near rookie of the year and defensive anchor Chet Holmgren, as well as a plethora of young talents that surround them.
In its entirety, it would seem feasible to think that Jalen Williams could potentially peak higher than Morant in the future should he continue his current rise. However, at this point, there have been no true indicators that this is the case, and whether it pans out remains to be seen.
It will be interesting to see the comparison between the two players coming into next season, assuming both rosters are fully healthy, and be able to give better insight into who is definitively the better overall prospect.
Tyrese Maxey
Yet another case of recency bias, Tyrese Maxey finds himself in a similar situation to the other players already mentioned who ranked highly based primarily on the 2023-24 campaign. Maxey, who is only 23, spent a fair portion of the NBA season trying to hold down the fort in Philadelphia while former MVP Joel Embiid rehabbed from injury.
During the time in which the 76ers effectively became Maxey’s to lead, the team saw mixed results, as they slipped down in the eastern conference standings and found themselves entering the postseason as a seventh seed and were forced to face the New York Knicks in round one.
Despite skepticism as to whether or not Embiid would even be able to play, the 76ers put up a valiant fight before eventually losing in six games that were riveting from start to finish.
During the series, Maxey imposed himself on the Knicks as a crafty and agile offensive threat who could effortlessly pull up from beyond the arc and bury three-pointers to hold the Knicks at bay.
This type of energy was best highlighted during the Sixers’ Game 5 win against New York, which saw Maxey play a herculean 52 minutes and hit countless difficult shots.
In the grand scheme, Maxey individually had a tremendous season capped off by putting the league on notice. The Sixers weren’t simply Joel Embiid’s team to try and carry, and there was a lethal arsenal waiting in the wings (or in this case, the backcourt).
At the same time, juxtaposing Maxey’s season with the Grizzlies star poses numerous questions: How well would Maxey perform if consistently the number one option? Does he retain the momentum after winning Most Improved Player and grow further both offensively and defensively?
These types of questions remain yet to be answered, though it is certainly premature to label him a more valuable prospect compared to Morant based on one series of postseason battles alone.
Comparatively speaking, Maxey took proper steps toward becoming a legitimate star but still has several more to go. One of which will require him to be able to fully take the reins of the team when needed as he did at the end of several games in their first-round series.
Moreover, there’s a need for Maxey to better define how he wants to play and what long-term role he will serve on the Sixers. Within this, there is also the question as to whether the Sixers will continue with Embiid as their centerpiece, or gravitate more toward the explosive guard that Maxey is.
In comparison to Ja Morant, Maxey has found himself in a generally more friendly environment.
The Eastern Conference is arguably easier than the West; Maxey had his own time this season to play without Embiid (with mixed results); and the team as a whole seemed more open to Maxey taking over compared to the bedlam out in Memphis without Ja at the helm.
All signs would point to the conclusion that currently, the Grizzlies guard is both a more valuable player to his franchise as well as the overall better player with a higher upside.
Zion Williamson
The last entry on the list is an individual who always seems to find himself in the limelight while simultaneously taking on a hefty amount of criticism. Zion Williams finds himself as the likely captain of the New Orleans Pelicans next year if Brandon Ingram decides to leave, and has shown flashes of absolute dominance.
Coupled with an undeniable presence during the regular season during which the forward played 70 games, Zion was listed in the 10th overall slot in the Next Gen rankings, enough to tie him with Morant.
Naturally, the two have often been compared due to being drafted with the first two picks of the 2019 NBA Draft despite playing radically different positions and boasting completely different styles.
Early on, a great deal of criticism of Williamson stemmed from the belief that his regular seasons were less than satisfactory. From 2019 through the 2022-2023 season, the forward only played a grand total of 114 games.
Looking to disperse the critics who had labeled him injury-prone and unreliable, Williamson saw an impressive 2023-2024 campaign end rather unceremoniously, as yet another injury kept him from seeing the floor in the playoffs sans the single Play-In game which he was available for.
To be fair, Zion was absolutely electric during the aforementioned outing against the Lakers.
Despite finding a good rhythm during the first Play-In game, Williamson sustained a hamstring injury that ended up keeping him out for the following matchup as well as the Pelicans’ first-round series against Oklahoma City.
Where the disconnect between Williamson and Morant begins to strongly manifest is the firsthand results from season to season as well as the level of leadership established. It should come as no surprise that the Grizzlies rally around Morant, and he, in turn, uses their passion to help push the team to success and magnify the talents surrounding him.
Compared to this, Zion takes a rather different approach, opting for a “call my own shot” type of mentality which rightfully allows him to unleash his overwhelming offensive prowess while still coordinating with other key players such as Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones.
Where Williamson has yet to prove himself as a consistent leader and centerpiece for a playoff-caliber team (although this year was a good step in the right direction), Morant showed just how lethal the Grizzlies can be under his steady hand such as during the 2022-2023 season in which Memphis secured the second-best record in the Western Conference.
Although the potential for future success is a metric that analysts opted to utilize in comparing players for this list, it would seem overly optimistic to conclude that Williamson’s potential warrants him sitting in a similar position to Morant.
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