Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke react to NBA All-Rookie First Team selection

The Grizzlies had multiple players on the All-Rookie First Team for the first time since the 2001-02 season (Pau Gasol and Shane Battier).

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Memphis Grizzlies teammates Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke on Tuesday were both named to the 2019-20 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the league announced.

Morant, who was named the 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year, received NBA All-Rookie First Team votes on all 100 ballots from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters while Clarke earned 92 first-place votes and five second-place votes.

With the selections, the Grizzlies have now been represented on the All-Rookie First Team in consecutive seasons (Jaren Jackson Jr.) and have had multiple players on the All-Rookie First Team for the first time since the 2001-02 season (Pau Gasol and Shane Battier).

Morant averaged 17.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.5 assists in 59 games played before the season shut down on March 11. He led all qualified rookies in scoring and assists while he shot 49.1% from the field, joining LeBron James and Nikola Jokic as the only three players this season to average 17 points and six assists while shooting 49% from the field.

Clarke finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 58 games played. Clarke set the NBA rookie record among qualified players for field-goal percentage (61.8) while he finished fourth among all players in that category. He also led all rookies in win shares (5.0).

Morant and Clarke emerged as two of the best players from the 2019 NBA Draft class with the selections as they nearly led the Grizzlies to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Upon earning the honor, they each congratulated each other on social media.

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