MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant is in no mood to prove anyone wrong or forget everything he’s been through over the last two years.

The Memphis Grizzlies point guard is just happy to be back on a basketball court.

“Right now I’m happy and that’s my main focus,” Morant said Monday. “I feel like a happy yes is a scary yes for a lot of people. As long as I stay happy and healthy, it will be a great season.”

Morant’s decline to near-insignificance was much quicker than his rise from the No. 2 overall draft pick to a fresh, young face of both the Grizzlies and the NBA. Now Morant is healthy after playing in just nine games last season due to a suspension and shoulder injury.

At the Grizzlies’ media day, he said he learned a lot from everything he went through on and off the field. Simply being the towering, fearless point guard on the court again could be the redemption tour that Morant, the Grizzlies and, yes, the NBA need.

“I want to remember the feeling I felt every time, no matter what the situation was,” Morant said. “I feel like it helped me a lot and helped me become a better yes. Right now I’m probably the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”

On the court, Morant rose to become the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year. The 2022 Most Improved Player helped Memphis finish No. 2 in the Western Conference in back-to-back seasons.

He is a two-time All-Star who earned a spot on the 2021-22 All-NBA team. That’s why the Grizzlies gave Morant a supermax five-year contract in 2022, potentially worth up to $231 million.

Then off-court troubles overshadowed Morant’s high-flying dunks and seeing-eye assists. He was suspended for eight games in March 2023 for displaying a weapon on a strip club’s social media. A second incident in May 2023 cost him the first 25 games of last season.

Morant returned last December and said only his performance could prove his growth.

He played in all nine games, averaged 25.1 points and helped Memphis go 6-3. Then on January 8, the Grizzlies announced that Morant would miss the remainder of the season and would undergo surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder after he was injured in practice two days earlier.

Without Morant and an injury-riddled squad, Memphis finished 27-55 and selected two-time AP Player of the Year Zach Edey of Purdue ninth overall.

Morant returned to training in the summer and immediately began working with his newest teammate. Nike, one of the sponsors that stuck with Morant, released its Ja 2 shoe on social media last week along with a commercial on Sunday.

The topic? Get back up when you get knocked down.

Morant’s Grizzlies teammates have seen it all summer. Morant began working with Edey, particularly on the court, after coming off his shoulder rehabilitation in mid-July. Edey said Morant made him feel welcome to practice with the team after he approached the guard.

“I’m just super grateful for that,” said Edey.

Coach Taylor Jenkins said it has been fun and impressive watching Morant work non-stop with his teammates since being cleared to work again. Jenkins said he senses a new focus and joy for Morant after a tough year.

“Basketball was taken away from him, and that’s his joy. It’s his love,” Jenkins said. “He has so much to give to the game. He knows he has more to give to the game. He knows he has more to give to this team and that is his mentality. And I loved watching it blossom, and I’m going to hold him to it.

Guard Desmond Bane said Morant was in great physical and playing condition. What he’s most excited about is seeing Morant speak out as a leader.

“He was always in command of the gym, and you know people listen every time he speaks,” Bane said.

Watching Morant on the field is what everyone wants to see next.