Has Ja Morant reached Superstar Status already?

[Dacost]

He is annoying on and off the court

Pat bev is that you on your burner account.?

[Vampirate]

Not Superstar, but perennial All Star.

[Hangtime84]

He is 100% a superstar. Casual fans want to see him and know who he is…..even with him playing in Memphis. He has the style, name, attitude, marketability, etc. Bball wise he is a lethal scorer, opportunistic defender, game controller, and the unquestioned leader for one of the best and youngest teams in the league. Winning that play in game last year was big as well.

If you mention him to a casual basketball fan, they won't have a clue who you're talking about a good 25-35% of the time. And nobody's mom who doesn't follow sports will have a clue. She might think you're having a stroke.

Come on, nearly every casual NBA fan knows who Ja is. And of course nobodies wife or mother would know, the only player that those types would’ve heard of is Lebron.

No they don't. He is been in the league for 3 years and is playing in Memphis. Not a big market. If he was in New York or Cali team America would have better idea of who he is.

Grizzles isn't even one of the big NBA Brand names.

[Vampirate]

This is kind of a tough one. I mean, a guy carrying a young franchise on his back to the 3 seed in his 3rd year while putting up monster stats?

Reminds me a lot of KJ for the Suns in ways. He led them to the WCF his 2nd and 3rd years after they had won like 28 the year before when they traded for him as a rookie (traded Larry Nance for him). They even beat the defending champion Showtime Lakers in 5 in a year Magic was MVP in the semifinals his 3rd year.

He was never really considered a superstar, though beloved in Phoenix at the time.

Of course you had prime Magic, Bird (on the decline), Jordan about to dominate, winning scoring titles, and a lot of big names like Barkley in Philly, Dominique, Isaih, etc.

I think it's tough to become a superstar in a small market...unless you are LeBron or something. Was CP3 a superstar in New Orleans? He had them as a high seed..maybe like a 3 seed. Of course he wasn't putting up as monster stats or was as exciting but he was as effective. Melo in Denver kind of was but he had just won a national championship at Syracuse in NY too.

Yes.

Also, if we are calling JA a superstar, then Derozan should be called one as well (neither of them are real Superstars, though JA has potential to become one maybe)

Imo, in order for you to be classified as a superstar, your on court impact must be enormous.

Chris Paul's stats were gaudy in N.O.

He'd have scored on average close to 20 points on excellent efficiency (especially 3rd year onwards), 4-5 rebounds, 2-2.2 steals while averaging 8-11 assists while only committing 2.3-2.5 Turn Overs and excellent defense fwic.

That is absolutely elite and is in the realm of players like MVP Steve Nash, Magic Johnson etc.


JA is having an excellent scoring season but he and Derozan are nowhere near that level.

[Dacost]

If you mention him to a casual basketball fan, they won't have a clue who you're talking about a good 25-35% of the time. And nobody's mom who doesn't follow sports will have a clue. She might think you're having a stroke.

Come on, nearly every casual NBA fan knows who Ja is. And of course nobodies wife or mother would know, the only player that those types would’ve heard of is Lebron.

No they don't. He is been in the league for 3 years and is playing in Memphis. Not a big market. If he was in New York or Cali team America would have better idea of who he is.

Grizzles isn't even one of the big NBA Brand names.

People know they might not know his name exactly but you get stuff like;

"Is that the guy got the block on the lakers"

"Is that the guy who elimated the Warriors last year"

"Is that the guy with the miss ducks ""

For guy on his 3rd year on one of smaller markets in the NBA I think he is well ahead of schedule.

[bubonicphoniks]

No superstars are people my mom has heard of.

[Dacost]

No superstars are people my mom has heard of.

Moms know who Krish Humphiers is so this doesn't make sense.

[lakerz12]

Everyone has a different definition of "Superstar".

But outside of passionate NBA fans, I don't think many people know who Ja Morant is. So I would say no.

Excluding players who have gotten famous for non-basketball reasons (the Ball brothers, Kris Humprhies, Tristan Thompson, i.e. anyone who has dated a Kardashian so 20% of the league)...

Superstars are known by the average person. Everyone has at least heard of LeBron, Kobe, Magic, MJ, AI, Shaq, Giannis - - those are real superstars.

[Memories]

If we're going by people globally knowing their name, than people like Kris Humphries or Kyle Kuzma are superstars then.

Playing wise, yes he is. Anybody that is saying he is not, explain how Luka Doncic is then? Because I never seen Luka carry a young and inexperienced team to a top 3 seed before. People saying this is his only good season didn't seem to watch last year when he carried the Memphis to a playoff spot by winning both play-in games, including against the Curry Warriors.

[Bobbcats]

Was CP3 a superstar in New Orleans? He had them as a high seed..maybe like a 3 seed. Of course he wasn't putting up as monster stats or was as exciting but he was as effective.

stats = points? Cp3 broke and rebroke the record for PER for PGs in New Orleans. And I don't see how he wasn't as exciting

[hoosierdaddy34]

Superstar status to me is how many jerseys do you sell, how popular are you. He might be. I don’t know.

Now if you mean is he a franchise player, a guy that puts your team in the playoffs every year and you are someone to be reckoned with just by his being on the team? In that I’m thinking you need to be a top 10 player in the league or so…he’s close. Very close

[bwgood77]

Was CP3 a superstar in New Orleans? He had them as a high seed..maybe like a 3 seed. Of course he wasn't putting up as monster stats or was as exciting but he was as effective.

stats = points? Cp3 broke and rebroke the record for PER for PGs in New Orleans. And I don't see how he wasn't as exciting

Oh, I agree. I look at effectiveness, leadership, team impact, playmaking, defense, steals, stuff like that more than just PPG, but sadly, many don't. Especially back then...PPG seemed to carry a lot more for the masses, though maybe not more to most of the die hard ones like on these forums who look deeper into it.

But the masses are what determine superstars.

[Prez]

Obviously everyone has different criteria, some will value popularity, status around the league, recognition both among fans and non-sports fans, etc. But to me the biggest thing is just level of play. To me you have to be a no brainer, perennial MVP caliber player who could without much question be the best player on a title team. Someone who you could see potentially putting together an extended playoff run where at the end of it, many people would argue or at least pose the idea of them being the best player in the world. Or at worst, top 2-3. To me that cuts the list of superstars IMO currently down to the following:

LeBron
Jokic
Giannis
Embiid
Curry
KD
Not fat Luka

Guys who would’ve been on that list in previous years but have declined or just aren’t healthy:

Kawhi
Harden
Bubble AD

Ja isn’t quite there imo. He’s awesome and will get there possibly as early as next year, but he’s not on that level to me just yet.

[Vampirate]

Everyone has a different definition of "Superstar".

But outside of passionate NBA fans, I don't think many people know who Ja Morant is. So I would say no.

Excluding players who have gotten famous for non-basketball reasons (the Ball brothers, Kris Humprhies, Tristan Thompson, i.e. anyone who has dated a Kardashian so 20% of the league)...

Superstars are known by the average person. Everyone has at least heard of LeBron, Kobe, Magic, MJ, AI, Shaq, Giannis - - those are real superstars.

The thing is those players are year in year out, dominant in the regular season, which leads to being featured in the All Star game, year in, year out.

This pretty much puts them into the average person's minds.

Long post season runs certainly help as well.

[MrBigShot]

There is a lot of variance in what people consider a superstar. For me personally, DeMar and Ja are playing at a superstar level this season. They've got the stats (efficiently), have their teams winning big, and look dominant eye test wise.

[tcheco]

I mean, casuals here in Brazil know who he is, that tells a story. Highlights, good stats, grizzles winning more and more after him. superstar

[bubonicphoniks]

No superstars are people my mom has heard of.

Moms know who Krish Humphiers is so this doesn't make sense.

Yeah, it does.

[Pennebaker]

In terms of the perspective of the franchises he is already a superstar.

[BeatDaCavs420]

He's a superstar

[JN61]

I will once again say it; the best Pg this year in the league. This guy is legit!