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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

The All-NBA first, second, and third teams were announced today and Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant made the All-NBA second team. The Most Improved Player of the year Ja, not making the All-NBA first team, has angered a lot of Grizzlies fans. Ja Morant had a great season with the Grizzlies even though they were eliminated by the Warriors in the Conference semifinals. And Ja was at the center of things, for most of the regular season and playoffs. But his unavailability because of injury helped the Warriors.

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USA Today via Reuters

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A lot of fans voiced their opinion that Ja Morant should have been selected for the All-NBA first team. The first team included guards Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, forwards Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and center Nikola Jokic.

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Was Ja Morant robbed?

We know the Memphis Grizzlies are a close-knit team. Notably, Ja offered his Most Improved Player of the year award to teammate Desmond Bane.?The Grizzlies’ camaraderie was on full display once again when Jaren Jackson Jr tweeted Ja should be on the All-NBA first team. And a lot of fans followed suit.

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The fans thought Devin Booker and Luka Doncic robbed Ja?s spot in the All-NBA first team. While there is some basis to the Booker argument, it is just hard to say the same about Luka. Because Luka has a better stat line than both Ja and Devin. His averages during the regular season and playoffs are better than the other two. And he is also still leading his team in the playoffs.

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In terms of stats, Morant made a massive jump from the previous year. Last year he averaged 19.1 points, 4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in the regular season. This year Ja averaged 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. This eventually won him the much-deserved Most Improved Player of the year.

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But that doesn?t warrant a place in the All-NBA first team. Joel Embiid was very close to winning the NBA MVP this year. He was in contention for the award throughout the season with Nikola Jokic, but missed out. Also, because of Jokic?s selection in the All-NBA first team, he had to settle for the All-NBA second team.?

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The All-NBA second team included Ja Morant, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid. The All-NBA third team included Chris Paul, Trae Young, Pascal Siakam, LeBron James, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

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Written by

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Bagavathi Eswaran

1,520 Articles

Bagavathi Eswaran is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports, having a strong passion for the sport since the age of ten. As a former college player, Bagavathi has been following the NBA for more than a decade and has found his calling in writing about the sport. He has used his expertise in covering the NBA, as well as other arenas of the sport, to write more than 1400 articles at ES. Bagavathi's pieces on the increasingly dominant presence of European basketball and those following the journey of women-ballers are particularly noteworthy. Along with being a full-time writer, he is also a part of a group of young coaches groomed as trainers by Junior NBA. Bagavathi has trained players from schools and colleges, as well as underprivileged students who can attend the camps for free.

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Ajinkya Aswale

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