Desmond Bane believes he’s ready to lead the Grizzlies without Ja Morant

36 games into the 2023/24 NBA season, Desmond Bane is averaging 24.7 points, 5.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds, as he’s become the Grizzlies’ main playmaker and scorer. The guard has had no other option but to adapt to this new role, especially as Ja Morant was first suspended during the first games of the campaign, and now he’s reported out due to a shoulder injury.

However, Bane is convinced he’s up for the challenge. The 25-year-old has always been a great shooter, and this season is no exception, as his usage rate has shot up to 27.6%, even though his true shooting percentage (59.8%) hasn’t changed too much.

As Memphis are now on a three-match winning streak, their hopes are high despite Morant’s absence. Nevertheless, the team is still 13th in the West with a 14-23 record, and many other players have been ruled out by injury.

I spoke to Desmond Bane about his insane development arc, being a Reggie Miller fan and the talent evaluators who didn’t see his upside. (“That’s their fault,” he said.) https://t.co/tCpX0bLXTX

— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) January 11, 2024

“We’ve just kind of been scratching and clawing this whole season, trying to fight back and get healthy,” Desmond expressed. “And then, obviously, the news with Ja. So it’s been a roller coaster of a season, but I knew we were going to be without Ja, obviously, at the start of the season, so I took my player development extremely serious, as I always do every summer, to be ready for what teams are going to throw at me as the No. 1 option and being the focal point of everybody else’s scouting report.”

Bane is one of only a few players who can actually shoot threes off dribble and movement, somewhat inspired by Stephen Curry. When asked why he believes only a select list of athletes can produce these stats, he said: “Why do I think it’s not a long list? I mean, it’s hard.”

The Grizzlies guard believes his offensive game is only improving day by day, as he’s been putting up the best numbers of his career this current campaign.

“I would just say well-rounded. I feel like there’s a lot of things that I can do on the court. There are still a bunch of areas I want to get better — I want to get better at getting to the free throw line, get better at playing out of ISO situations — but pick-and-rolls, DHOs, transition, playing off of off-ball screens, those are all areas that I’ve put in time and effort to become comfortable playing in,” the 25-year-old said about his offense.

The Indiana native revealed why Reggie Miller was his idol growing up and how he’s modeled his game

If you hear the phrase “great shooter from Indiana,” you immediately think of Reggie Miller. And the same happens to Desmond Bane, who has always been compared, and even modeled his game after the Pacers legend. The Memphis star recalled all the players who inspired him growing up.

“Huge fan. I mean, huge fan. Being from Indiana, he gave Pacers basketball life. When I was young, they were good. They had runs with Jamaal Tinsley, Jermaine O’Neal. They had good teams. And then, as I got older, they kind of had that wave where Paul George was there. So I was blessed to be able to see a bunch of good players in Pacers uniforms, and my family, we were just sports people,” he said.

Bane then shared why his family was so involved in sports. “Like, my grandma and grandpa were retired, so during the day, they’re doing stuff around the house or chilling or whatever and then after news comes on, we’re watching the games, whether it’s football, basketball. So I just kind of grew up with a love for the game,” he reminisced. “And Reggie was the best player in Indiana, so that shooting stuff kind of stuck with me.”

As this year’s All-Star weekend is set to happen in Indianapolis, Desmond confessed he’d love to be selected this season. “It would be like the cherry on top. I mean, obviously, making it to the NBA was a lifelong dream of mine and something that was a far-fetched dream and something, like, in the back of your mind, you don’t even know if you really believe it,” he claimed.