NBA: 5 young players who have surprised everyone this season

5 young NBA players that have surprised everyone this year: Ja Morant

Should anything Ja Morant does come across as a surprise? Maybe not.

But nonetheless, seeing just what Morant has been capable of this year and how high he has been able to take his game this early on in his career has been remarkable.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the 22-year-old point guard is one of the most explosive athletes ever to play in the NBA. The feats of athleticism he has demonstrated make him one the most exciting players in the league to watch, and he is quickly establishing himself as an early MVP candidate, despite being in just his third year.

Across the first 12 games of the season, Morant is averaging 26.5 points per game, up from 19.1 last season. This has been helped by his improvements from behind the three-point line.

The Grizzlies guard has struggled with his jumper since arriving in the league, but this year is showing real progress. Morant has increased the number of threes he is taking per game to 4.8 (up from 3.8 last season) and is making 1.6 per game compared to 1.2 last year.

There is still a long way to go for him to improve that aspect of his game, but his jumper is looking cleaner and more consistent than it has in previous years. Paired with his often unstoppable drives to the basket, Morant could easily become one of the finest point guards ever to play the game, should he continue on this upward trajectory.

He has taken on more responsibility this season, increasing the number of shots taken per game to 20.5 (up from 15.2 last season) while his usage rate has surged from 26.7 percent to 31.8 percent.

Simply put, Morant is starting to become a superstar at the age of just 22, and all the signs suggest there is plenty more to come.