The current NBA season is full of surprises and excitement. The top three teams in the league are all considered “favorites” by experts to make it out of the first round, with many predicting a quick series sweep for Golden State or Toronto. However, there have been some upsets that have caught people off guard- including one recent game where LeBron James was not on his game. After losing their lead in the fourth quarter against Orlando Magic, they came back to win 107 – 105 after taking a timeout at 101-103 with only seconds left
Topic: What Is Hibernation?
Category: Science
Introduction: Scientists say hibernation arises when animals enter into an extended period without food or water while remaining resilient because they use fat reserves as energy during this time (in contrast to fasting). They can remain alive for months underground before waking up again
The “reminds me of you” is a quote from Allen Iverson. The phrase is often used to describe someone who reminds the speaker of themselves.
During the 2021-22 NBA season, Ja Morant broke onto the scene as a full-fledged A-List superstar. The Memphis Grizzlies’ captain has led his club to the top of the Western Conference rankings, as well as himself into the top five contenders for MVP.
Ja’s highlight reel is equally as good as his total performance. Deep threes, buzzer beaters, spectacular dunks, and unbelievable finishes have all placed him on the map as a must-see entertainer as well as a brilliant player.
When looking for similarities to Morant’s game, there’s one Hall of Famer who keeps popping up. The style, the sparkle, and the jaws left on the floor are all hauntingly similar to Allen Iverson’s.
Hall of Famer Larry Brown, one of The Answer’s past head coaches, is the latest to draw that precise connection.
With the Memphis Grizzlies, Ja Morant has established himself as an NBA superstar.
During a game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant reacts. | Getty Images/Justin Ford
Ja was the No. 2 choice in the 2019 NBA Draft and was voted Rookie of the Year that season.
His numbers improved the following year, and they’ve risen dramatically this season until March 15.
Morant’s scoring average increased from 19.1 to 27.5 points per game. His rebounding percentage increased from 4.0 to 5.8. This year, he’s shooting 49.3 percent from the field, compared to 44.9 percent last year.
More threes are being made and taken by him. He has a greater rate of effective field goals.
At the age of 22, he’s taken such a jump (literally) that he’s won his first All-Star appearance and is in the race for the 2021-22 MVP.
According to NBA.com, Morant is in fourth place for the award, after Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He’s gone from up-and-comer to one of the league’s finest point guards in a flash.
The Iverson comparisons have been seen and heard. But now we’re getting one from a so-called “AI specialist.”
The latest to compare Ja to Allen Iverson is Larry Brown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXK2 uNfcXc
*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden} html,bodyheight:100% img,spanposition:absolute;width:100% ;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyhe spanheight:1.5em;text-align:center;font:48px/1.5 sans-serif;color:white;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow
From 1997-98 through 2002-03, Larry Brown was Iverson’s coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. He saw Bubba Chuck’s meteoric rise to national prominence.
Brown saw Iverson’s meteoric rise from a promising 22-year-old to NBA icon (sound familiar?). In the 2000-01 season, he and AI reached the NBA Finals together, which coincided with The Answer earning his lone MVP title.
Brown, more than any other coach, is an Iverson specialist. And now, through The New York Post, the former Philadelphia head coach is the first to point up the parallels between AI and Ja:
In terms of athleticism, he reminds me a lot of Allen [Iverson]. Unafraid… He’s one of a kind.
I remember sitting on the bench in Philly, looking at the staff, and watching Allen do something that made us all giggle because we’d never seen anybody do anything like that before. When I see Ja play, I get the same thrill.
Larry Brown, the former head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, compares Ja Morant with Allen Iverson.
It’s simple to see the parallels between Morant and a juvenile AI. But Ja has a few things to do before completing the connection.
The Memphis guard wants to equal — if not better — AI’s finest season.
*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden} html,bodyheight:100% img,spanposition:absolute;width:100% ;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyhe spanheight:1.5em;text-align:center;font:48px/1.5 sans-serif;color:white;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow
In terms of their respective teams, they are apples and oranges. To win, Philly needed every point Iverson scored, while Ja is the captain of a deep, close-knit Memphis squad.
Iverson earned MVP in the 2000-01 season after averaging more than 31 points per game. However, AI has an award and a Finals appearance that Morant does not. At least for the time being.
The Grizzlies are 47-22 as of March 15. They’re vying for the second seed in the West with the Golden State Warriors.
However, Ja’s team — and he himself — are both good enough to make a serious push for the NBA championship this season. And it seems that a potential MVP is just around the way.
Morant, like Iverson, will not back down from a battle. He doesn’t simply want to compete with AI in those two areas; he wants to outperform him.
Basketball Reference provided all statistics.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Recent Remarks Suggestions Ja Morant Could Be a Future MVP
