--- description: Find out how Ja Morant is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: 2022 TIME100 Next: Ja Morant image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf44515ca4a291e3f/698a35c3e6e84a06802af51e/time100-next-ja-morant.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 28, 2022 # Ja Morant by Justin Timberlake  Thearon W. Henderson—Getty Images Thearon W. Henderson—Getty ImagesThearon W. Henderson—Getty Images Ja Morant, the all-star point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, is a human highlight reel. The way he jumps over opponents on his massive power dunks changes the way you think about the game. How is he doing what he’s doing? We’ve got a unicorn in Memphis, my hometown. Every once in a while, certain players come along and really change the culture of the game. Ja is emerging as a face of the NBA for good reason. The only thing missing for him is championship hardware. I know he’s going to go after it hard this season. He really exemplifies Memphis because of his mix of toughness, confidence, and humility. He brings joy to people around him. You see it in his interactions with fans, especially young ones. You see it in the [clip that went viral](https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2022/07/05/video-of-grizzlies-star-ja-morant-tipping-his-waitress-goes-viral "undefined") this summer, when Ja surprised a waitress with a $500 tip. You see it in the heel-­tapping dance, the “Griddy,” that he’s helped popularize. That joy is just [Ja’s nature](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/sports/basketball/ja-morant-nba-playoffs.html "undefined"). He is who he is, and he demands respect. Because he’s so damn good. _Timberlake is a musician, actor, and minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies_ Ja Morant Is on the TIME100 Next 2022 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213923/ja-morant/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213923/ja-morant/"},"headline":"Ja Morant","datePublished":"2022-09-28T09:58:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:06:44.361Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213923/ja-morant/","keywords":["TIME 100 Next","sponsorshipblock","time100nextphenoms2022"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf44515ca4a291e3f/698a35c3e6e84a06802af51e/time100-next-ja-morant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf44515ca4a291e3f/698a35c3e6e84a06802af51e/time100-next-ja-morant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213923/ja-morant/","name":"Ja Morant"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 Next: See Every Honoree","description":"See every 2022 TIME100 Next honoree in under two minutes.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/i4LJ3fau/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-09-28T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/i4LJ3fau.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213923/ja-morant/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2022/6213923/ja-morant/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```