After making a strong impact in his return from a six-game absence in Sunday’s 126-109 win over the Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant made it clear he wants to stay with the team.

“I’ve got a (Grizzlies) logo ?on my back, so that should ?tell you ?exactly where I want to be,” ?Morant said after the game. “If anybody in (the locker room) knows me, I’m a very loyal guy.”

Morant scored a game-high 24 points in his first contest back, making 7 of 13 shots from the field, including 3 of 4 on 3-point attempts. He ?also tied his season high with 13 assists.

Morant, the subject of trade rumors, ?had been ?sidelined since Jan. 2 with ?a right calf contusion and has been limited ?to ?19 of the team’s 41 games due to injuries.

Morant’s contract, a five-year, $197 million deal, expires after the 2027-28 season. He’s eligible for a three-year, $178 million extension next summer.

Without signing him to an extension, any team taking on Morant at the February trade deadline would owe him ?the ?balance of his existing deal: the remainder of his $39.4 million salary for the current ?season, $42.2 million next season and $44.9 million for 2027-28.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, Morant is playing fewer minutes this season, ?averaging a career-low 28.3 to go with 19 points and 7.6 assists per game.

Morant, 26, has career averages of 22.4 points, 7.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and one steal per game.

“It felt good,” he said of stepping back on the court. “Especially to be able to do this — first time playing a real overseas game ... I needed it.”

Excitement was high for league’s 10th regular-season game in London, and the first since 2019, although transatlantic tensions flared when a lone heckler yelled “Leave Greenland Alone” during Vanessa Williams’ pregame performance of the U.S. national anthem in a dig at U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to seize control of the autonomous Danish territory.

The Grizzlies led by as many as 33, seizing control with 40 points in the first quarter.

Memphis has lately made a habit of letting double-digit leads get away, including squandering a 20-point first-half advantage in a loss to Orlando in Berlin on Thursday.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Morant’s energy was a key to preventing the Magic from making a similar comeback on Sunday.

“His speed, his intensity, his energy level, when he gets on the court he’s a tough guard,” Mosley said. “He’s a lightning bolt getting downhill.”