Murray State's most famous export didn't ease into his Portland Trail Blazers tenure — he announced it.
Ja Morant made his debut with the Blazers on October 22 in about as loud a fashion as possible, finishing with 14 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals in just 22 minutes of a 124-83 demolition of the Phoenix Suns. The eye-popping number: a +33 plus-minus in under a half of basketball. Portland set the tone immediately, opening the game on a 43-12 first-quarter run that rendered the final result a formality before halftime.
The pre-game question was whether Morant would start alongside Damian Lillard or come off the bench in a new-look backcourt that also features Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson. New head coach Micah Nori kept the decision close to the vest before ultimately inserting Morant into the starting five next to Lillard. The backcourt experiment, which plenty of analysts had called a crowded mess on paper, looked seamless in Game 1. Lillard contributed 25 points, six three-pointers, and six assists, while Morant ran the show with efficiency rather than spectacle — his first bucket as a Blazer came on a banked three-pointer near halfcourt, a reminder that his game has expanded well beyond the high-wire dunks that made him famous in Memphis.
The game wasn't without edge. Cameras caught Morant and Devin Booker getting testy as Portland's lead ballooned, with Morant brushing a shoulder against Booker as the Suns unraveled. Morant's postgame message was characteristically pointed — underscoring that first impressions matter and that he intended to make his count.
Lillard, for his part, took a swipe at the skeptics afterward, dismissing the noise around whether the Morant fit could work. After one game, the data backed him up. The Blazers acquired Morant in an offseason trade with Memphis, and the early returns suggest the front office may have threaded a needle most thought was too small.
Not everyone is convinced. Charles Barkley publicly called Portland the "worst place" for Morant, questioning whether the franchise's long-term trajectory can support a player of his caliber. The sustainability question is real — Portland went 42-40 last season, and pairing two ball-dominant guards has historically created more problems than it solves. FanSided noted the early success while flagging whether the backcourt partnership can hold up over an 82-game grind.
Morant followed up his debut two days later against the Sacramento Kings — a tighter, 128-120 Portland win — with 12 points, seven assists, and a +7 plus-minus in 26 minutes. Less fireworks, but a winning result as the Blazers moved to 2-0.
The other Murray State alum in the NBA, Cameron Payne, is on the Philadelphia 76ers roster but had no notable activity to report during the week.
Two games in, the Racers-to-Rip City pipeline is off to a rollicking start. The real test comes when the schedule stiffens — but for now, Morant has made exactly the first impression he said he wanted to make.
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