The story behind Ja Morant's new 'Ja-Raffe' PE Ja 1 sneakers

Ja Morant won't be playing in the Memphis Grizzlies' season opener on Wednesday, but the two-time all-star still unveiled a surprise ahead of the first game.

Morant wore a new pair of Ja 1s that were inspired by "Ja-Raffe" during Grizzlies morning shootaround. The "Ja-Raffe" Ja 1s are inspired by the baby giraffe that was given the Ja-Raffe name in November 2020.

Morant met the giraffe at the Memphis zoo just 10 days after he was born. Ja Raffe and Morant were both six-foot-three when they met.

Ja-Raffe was relocated to Utah in July 2022 due to his male instinct to fight with the herd for the favor of other female giraffes.

The new Ja 1s have a giraffe themed design on the sneaker, but don't expect to find these in stores. This pair of Ja 1s is player-edition sneaker.

"Not these," Morant said on X, formerly known as Twitter, when a fan asked if the shoes would be available. "S/o jaraffe he designed them."

Along with all of the public release sneakers, Morant has been showcasing PEs and "Friends and family" colorways to the Ja 1 collection. At Tuesday's practice, he unveiled a light blue "F&F" pair with Swarovski crystals.

Practices and morning shootarounds will be the extent that fans can see the Grizzlies star in his rarest sneakers until Dec. 19. That is the first game Morant is expected to be eligible to return from a 25-game suspension.

As of now, Morant will have to leave the arena two hours before games.

The Grizzlies are hosting the Pelicans at home for their season-opener tonight (7 p.m. Bally Sports Southeast).

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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant shoes: Ja-Raffe Ja 1 sneaker featured before Grizzlies opener