Ja Morant named Player of the Week on return from 25-game suspension

Morant's first game of the season came against the New Orleans Pelicans on December 19, where the 24-year-old scored 34 points including a game-winning floater at the buzzer to complete a 24-point comeback.

He tallied 20 points and eight assists in his first home game on December 21 vs. Indiana and posted his first double-double of the season with 30 points and 11 assists on December 23 at Atlanta.

Morant averaged 28 points, nine assists and 5.7 rebounds to help deliver the Grizzlies their first three-game winning streak of the year.

Morant was suspended 25 games without pay in June after the league found he had displayed a firearm in a car in a live-streamed video on May 13.

The two-time All-Star was previously suspended for eight games in March after he appeared in another social media video holding a firearm at a nightclub.

League commissioner Adam Silver called his behaviour "reckless and irresponsible" at the time of the suspension and said he worried that his young fans could seek to emulate him.

Morant took accountability for his actions after each suspension was announced, apologizing to the NBA, the Grizzlies and the city of Memphis.

The Grizzlies have struggled mightily without their explosive young star this season. The team is currently 9-19, good for 13th in the Western Conference.