Sprained ankles are certainly bothersome, but when the topic of conversation became Ja Morant’s, the Memphis Grizzlies All-Star confirmed that any pain was tolerable enough to boot the reigning Western Conference champions swiftly out of postseason contention. Exuding warrior-like toughness — even after falling a few possessions shy of defeating Golden State’s version three nights prior — Morant attacks the playoff goal ambitiously, crashing the glass as a reinforcement to his teammate’s missed floater. Brilliantly positioned to follow the slightly-too-strong teardrop with something more forceful, Morant encourages eruption in FedExForum through a ferocious putback finish. Under Morant’s supervision, Memphis — leading by as much as 25 in the wire-to-wire win— created the early-game avalanche needed to dispatch of the Dallas Mavericks, ultimately setting up a quite-ironic opening-round date against the top-seeded Thunder. Extraordinary from the jump, both literally and figuratively, Morant turbocharged the Grizzlies through 22 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and one 3-pointer, ending Memphis’ one-season postseason drought on April 18, 2025. · Apr 18, 2025