SAN FRANCISCO — As the rest of the NBA wonders which player may eventually take over the large mantle that LeBron James and Stephen Curry have carried for years as faces of the league, one man is still mentioned as a possible torchbearer for the game in the future, with no desire for the role: Ja Morant.

“I never did for real,” Morant told The Athletic in advance of Monday’s game against the Golden State Warriors. “Honestly.”

The Memphis Grizzlies’ star guard has long been mentioned in a select group of young players who have the superstar ability and potential to take over the responsibility when James and Curry retire. However, the 26-year-old says that while he hears the conversations about the future faces of the league, it’s not a role he wants to fulfill.

“There’s a lot that comes with that,” Morant said. “I play basketball for the love of the game, not to be the face of the NBA. Obviously, I hear that a lot. I don’t put no pressure on it. I just go out and just play my game. Me pretty much just going out there and doing that had me in those conversations. Obviously, people have their own opinions, but I really don’t care for it too much.”

Morant burst onto the NBA scene in 2019 after being selected No. 2 by the Grizzlies. He won Rookie of the Year and quickly earned the respect of his peers throughout the league with his play and athleticism, becoming an All-Star in 2022 and 2023. A combination of off-court incidents, suspensions and injuries, however, stalled the early trajectory of his career.

The NBA suspended Morant for eight games in March 2023 for conduct detrimental to the league after flashing a handgun in a nightclub on an Instagram Live video. He was suspended 25 games to start the 2023-24 season, again for conduct detrimental to the league, after another video of him with a gun appeared on social media.

Morant’s image and popularity took a hit due to the suspensions, and the talk of him becoming that type of figure for the league subsided. Despite the incidents and injury setbacks, Morant’s peers still view him as one of the bright stars in the game. Curry even mentioned Morant by name while noting that he doesn’t pay much attention to the “next face” of the league conversation because the NBA always figures out a way to find the next face on its own.

“That stuff takes care of itself,” Curry told The Athletic recently. “I hope there’s an energy towards being great ambassadors for the game, whoever the group of guys are, you can obviously name those between the Ja’s, the Ant’s, the Luka’s, the Wemby’s, the Shai’s and all that, JT’s (Jayson Tatum), but I don’t get caught up in that, because when I was coming up, there was never a conversation. Until you got to the finals, other people started talking about it.”

For his part, Morant genuinely seems to appreciate the praise from peers like Curry and Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant, who, in the past, have said how much Morant’s game means to the league.

“I feel like that means way more to me than somebody else pretty much doing it,” Morant said. “Those guys are all-time greats, definitely going to be Hall of Famers. That’s just more respect from my peers, credit to the work I’ve been putting in, but this ain’t the end.”

Specific to Monday’s matchup, Morant admitted that he always enjoys facing Curry and the Warriors because of the challenge Curry provides. He has respect for the 37-year-old guard and has played against him long enough to see firsthand just how much Curry’s game has evolved.

“You’ve seen Steph’s game transition into the player he is now,” Morant said. “Came into the league pretty much young, still was able to shoot the ball, but as he’s had more years, more time, the game pretty much slowed down for him, and now it’s become so easy to where you pretty much just try to make every shot tough and just pray he misses. I just admire our matchups the most because it’s always fun against the Warriors. Obviously, they got the better end of the stick at this time, but I love those matchups.”

So if Morant doesn’t want to be a future face of the league like Curry, what are his goals over the next few years?

“Just be the best Ja I can be,” he said.

What does that look like for him on the floor?

“We don’t know yet,” he said.

The one thing that is clear from his responses is that his confidence in his game doesn’t seem to have wavered. He knows he can still be a great player, whether he carries the pressure of being at the top of the game or not.

“I ain’t gonna be perfect on the court,” Morant said. “So there’s always something I can get better at.”