Charles Barkley has a long-term concern about Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant that he thinks Morant needs to take a look at.
Barkley discussed Morant on Monday’s “Inside the NBA” and shared his concerns about Morant’s playing style. In Barkley’s mind, Morant needs to watch out for his body more and stop “trying to dunk on people.”
“My only concern with him is he’s a little too reckless for me,” Barkley said. “He can’t be running at them big bodies like that, because he’s gonna get hurt. Big bodies gonna hurt little bodies. He’s got to learn to shoot a little floater. He’s got to quit trying to dunk on people, because little bodies are always going to get hurt by big bodies. I love the kid. I love the fact that he’s fearless. But sometimes he’s going to have to take a step back and not take those body blows.”
"My only concern with him is he's a little too reckless for me. He can't be running into them big bodies like that because he gonna get hurt. … He gotta quit trying to dunk on people."
Charles Barkley on Ja Morant's playing style 🗣️
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/JBJq6wN65s
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 20, 2025
Morant has missed 18 games this season with various injuries. He missed a game last week with a foot injury, but returned to action Monday.
Fans undoubtedly love Morant’s high-flying dunks, but Barkley makes a reasonable point. After playing in 67 games as a rookie, Morant has not hit that mark since, with a shoulder injury costing him virtually all of last year. Morant cannot help his team if he is sidelined, and that seems to be Barkley’s concern.
Morant has been outstanding when healthy this year. He is averaging 21.4 points and 7.5 assists per game entering play Monday.
