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Ja Morant Calls Himself a 'Point God' Ahead of 2019 NBA Draft

Timothy Rapp

Star prospect and potential top-three pick Ja Morant isn't lacking for confidence ahead of June 20's NBA draft, describing himself as a "point god" on the Posted Up podcast with Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes:

"The ability to not only make plays for me but also my teammates," Morant said when asked what made him a point god. "Just everything I bring to the table, honestly. Try to play an all-around game and do whatever I can to help my team win." 

Morant certainly did it all in the 2018-19 season for Murray State, finishing eighth in the nation in scoring (24.5 PPG) and first in assists (10 APG). He shot 49.9 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three, showing the ability to score at all three levels while also creating for his teammates. 

That's made him a safe bet to be off the board early in this year's draft. B/R's Jonathan Wasserman had him going No. 2 overall in his latest mock draft, noting his "explosiveness, playmaking and scoring potential."

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The Athletic's Sam Vecenie also had Morant going No. 2 in his latest mock draft, behind only Duke's Zion Williamson, the prohibitive favorite to be this year's top overall pick. He called Morant a "high-level prospect worthy of being taken in the top-five," noting he's an "elite player off of a live dribble, due largely to his tight handle, terrific of change of pace, and ability to change direction without slowing down."

He added that his "vision is sublime," though his "skinny frame gives some evaluators pause as a finisher" and his "jump shot also needs some work, as he’s not the most adept pull-up shooter yet."

So no, he's not the perfect prospect. But to this point, it's safe to say that Morant has been a "point god. Maintaining that level of play in the NBA is always the real test, of course, though Morant appears to have the right mentality to take his game to a new level.

"I just start by studying my teammates," he told Haynes. "Just knowing what their strengths are, know where they like to score the ball from. I guess just knowing that, it gives you an edge, because it makes the job easier. Because if you know what they wanna do, so long as long as you can put them in that position to do that, it makes the job way easier."

   

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