NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year

Ja Morant comes to the Memphis Grizzlies as the No. 2 overall pick and with enormous expectations.

That’s not to mention the fact he’s replacing franchise icon Mike Conley, who was traded to the Utah Jazz to make room for the youngster who became the first player in NCAA history to average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in a season.

The 20-year-old spent two seasons at Murray State and will be trying to succeed where other highly touted point guards (Isaiah Canaan and Cameron Payne) from that program in recent years have fizzled.

As a sophomore, Morant averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 36.6 minutes per game, shooting 49.9 percent overall and hitting 36.3 percent on 4.8 3-point attempts per game.

Morant was held out of Summer League by the Grizzlies after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee before the draft, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The procedure was to remove loose bodies from the knee and Morant is expected to be ready to go for the start of training camp — his prognosis was a three-to-four-week recovery period.

Morant is an explosive point guard but will need to add strength — as 99.99 percent of rookies do — as he was listed at 6’3″ and 175 pounds on draft night.

This year will be a learning experience for the rebuilding Grizzlies, which means they have the minutes to give to Morant so he can get that experience.

If his numbers in the Ohio Valley Conference translate fairly well to the NBA, he will be a solid contender for Rookie of the Year honors, an award won by just one Grizzlies player previously. Pau Gasol won the honor during the franchise’s first season in Memphis in 2001-02.