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Welcome back to your Grizzlies Insider, where the season has begun and we deliver the latest NBA news and analysis straight to your inbox twice a week.
Memphis can’t wait to have an NBA All-Star again.
It’s been more than four seasons since the Grizzlies had a player participate in the NBA’s marquee event. Surely, that streak will end this season as Ja Morant heads to Cleveland for the festivities.
“It feels good, man,” said Morant on Tuesday after hitting the game-winning shot inside Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, this season’s home of the game. “I got to get comfortable.”
But will the Grizzlies’ point man be a starter?
The fan voting began on Christmas Day, and will continue through Saturday, Jan. 22. Fan votes will account for 50% in determining the game’s starters, while voting from the media and fellow players will make up 25% each.
Each conference will have two guards and three frontcourt players selected.
The NBA released the first update to the fan voting results on Thursday. Morant was third among Western Conference guards with 669,033 votes, behind only Steph Curry (2,584,623) and Luka Doncic (787,690).
Curry, the leading MVP candidate and an immensely popular player among the fans, figures to already have a grip on one of the guard spots.
That leaves Morant up against Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, who could get heavy votes from the media and players, and Dallas’ Luka Doncic, who is having a disappointing season relative to preseason expectations.
Suns teammates Chris Paul, an 11-time All-Star, and Devin Booker are also in the race for the starting spot.
Morant’s third-place spot will give him a chance, at least, to be one of the first five on the floor for the West. He will need to hold off players on teams higher in the standings during the media and players' votes.
Morant is averaging 25.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game this season. The Memphis Grizzlies are currently fourth in the Western Conference.
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 Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (22) gets instructions from coach Taylor Jenkins during the first half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, in Memphis, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Nikki Boertman)
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Ja Morant won his first NBA Player of the Week honor after scoring 30-plus points in three Grizzlies wins last week.
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