Photo: Peter Baba

Ja Morant’s fresh start with the Portland Trail Blazers has drawn support from former NBA guard Iman Shumpert, who said he wants the two-time All-Star to “prove everybody wrong” after several turbulent seasons on and off the court.

Speaking on The Big Podcast with Shaq, Shumpert defended Morant while expressing hope that the 26-year-old can get back to being one of the NBA’s most dynamic players.

“I’m so excited for him to start this journey in Portland,” Shumpert said, via HoopsHype. “I want him to prove everybody wrong so bad.”

Shumpert acknowledged that Morant made mistakes but argued that much of the public discussion surrounding the star guard lacked perspective.

“It make me so angry,” Shumpert said. “They’re making $200 million a year. In three years, they’re going to have $200 million. You don’t think he’s going to have a firearm to defend himself? … Yeah, he did a dumb thing by going on the internet with it.”

Rather than focusing solely on Morant’s off-court controversies, Shumpert said he hopes the former Memphis Grizzlies franchise player can rewrite the narrative where it matters most.

“I just want him to be able to right the wrong, not even off the court, but on the court, to be healthy and doing the thing that it’s like, this is what got him in this situation,” Shumpert said.

Portland is betting that Morant can do exactly that after acquiring him from the Grizzlies in one of the biggest moves of the 2026 offseason. The trade marked a dramatic shift in direction for the Trail Blazers, who moved veteran forward Jerami Grant and Kris Murray while building around a young core led by Morant, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan.

The franchise also hired Micah Nori as head coach following its first-round playoff exit after a 42-40 season that earned the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Portland pushed into the postseason but was eliminated in five games by the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs.

Morant arrives in Portland looking to recapture the level that made him one of the league’s brightest young stars. Through seven NBA seasons, he owns career averages of 22.4 points, 7.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 46.6% from the field across 327 games. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2020, won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2022, made two All-Star teams and finished seventh in MVP voting during his breakout 2021-22 campaign, when he averaged a career-high 27.4 points.

His production has dipped over the past three seasons as injuries and suspensions limited his availability. Morant appeared in just nine games in 2023-24 before playing 50 contests in 2024-25 and only 20 games during the 2025-26 season, averaging 19.5 points, 8.1 assists and shooting 41.0% from the field.

For Portland, the hope is that a healthy Morant can elevate a roster that already features All-Star forward Deni Avdija, who averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists last season, alongside rising scorer Shaedon Sharpe, who contributed 20.8 points per game.