LeBron James, Draymond Green and other NBA stars are thrilled to see Grizzlies’ Ja Morant back in action

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant had his 2023-24 season debut on Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans after serving a 25-game suspension for repeated firearm incidents last season. Instead of being rusty due to a lack of playing time, he went right back to being one of the most dominant young forces in the league.

Morant had the ball in his hands in the final seconds and ended up converting a spinning layup as time expired to give the Grizzlies a 115-113 win against New Orleans.

Morant helped lead the Grizzlies back after they trailed by as many as 24 points. The Grizzlies guard scored 34 points on 12-of-24 shooting, while also dishing out eight assists and securing six rebounds in the win.

The Grizzlies certainly missed having Morant on the court as they got off to a 6-19 start without him and were on a five-game losing streak leading up to his return.

“I’ve been putting work in, man,” Morant said after the game. “I ain’t play a game in eight months. Had a lot of time to learn myself. A lot of hard days where I went through it. But you know, basketball is my life — what I love, therapeutic for me. And I’m just excited to be back.”

Following the heart-pounding finish, NBA stars like LeBron James, Draymond Green, and many others took to X (formerly Twitter) to weigh in on Morant’s heroics. Some of the league’s biggest names — both past and present — were thrilled to see Morant back in action.