“Never say never” is John Grant Jr.’s motto.

“I kind of like having that carrot at the end of the rope to keep me training,” he said Thursday, one day before he was named as the best player in Major League Lacrosse history by US Lacrosse Magazine contributor Phil Shore.

Grant, 45, took the field last season as a player-coach with the Denver Outlaws as what some viewed as a gimmick. But this wasn’t a publicity stunt, at least for Grant. The proof? He finished third on the Outlaws in points during their runner-up season.

He previously retired from playing in April 2017 and served as Denver’s offensive coordinator for two seasons. The draw to keep playing was too strong, though. The allure of stepping on the field is still there heading into this summer.

“My heart’s still in it, but I basically destroyed whatever I had left of my left knee last season,” Grant said. “I had 30ccs drained before the championship game last season.”

With a possible start date for Major League Lacrosse in flux due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season is in question.

“I feel like if it’s done this year and there’s no season, that’ll probably be the end,” Grant said.

If this is the end (likely for good, this time), then Grant has the memories to fall back on. He was there during the inaugural season in 2001 and has since witnessed the league’s growth and restructuring to adapt to the times.

A box lacrosse legend, Grant, the 1999 USILA National Player of the Year at Delaware, looked at Major League Lacrosse as an opportunity to go out and have fun. His skills transitioned to the field game better than maybe even he anticipated.

“Field lacrosse was kind of a hobby for me. My true passion was box,” he said. “It was just an awesome opportunity. I’ve had the best owners to play for. I’ve had Hall of Fame coach after Hall of Fame coach.”

Grant’s illustrious 14-year career — in which he’s scored a league-record 598 points, won two MVP awards (2007, 2008) and won three Offensive Player of the Year awards (2001, 2007, 2008) — was reinvigorated when he was traded from the Lizards to the Bayhawks in 2012.

With Long Island, Grant said he couldn’t connect to the community like he had at other stops during his career, which included Rochester, where he played for both MLL’s Rattlers and the National Lacrosse League’s Knighthawks. He said he’s always prided himself on living in the communities he’s played in.

Grant won two of his five MLL championships while playing for Chesapeake in 2012 and 2013. He also won titles with Rochester (2008), Hamilton (2009) and Denver (2014).

“Playing for the Bayhawks was awesome,” Grant said. “Coach [Dave] Cottle kind of resuscitated my career. We had a savvy group of vets. That felt like home.”

Grant will have a new home later this year, literally.

On May 11, he was named the offensive coordinator for the Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team, rounding out Peter Milliman’s new staff. Grant was living in Colorado and coaching at Air Force, and now he said he’s in the market for a new home in the Baltimore area. He said that won’t prevent him from fulfilling his obligation to the Outlaws.

“The hardest part was talking to my girls,” Grant said. “I was late in the interview process and wasn’t really sure I was going to get it. When my wife gave me permission to interview, we had to sit down and talk about it. They’ve got a phenomenal situation out here. We moved into a house in my daughter’s district, so she can walk to school. My wife’s crushing the real estate game right now, so it was tough to ask them to pick everything up and move.”

The plan, he said, is to head to Charles Street if school is back in session in August or September. His daughter and wife will follow a few months later. Of course, this is all dependent on the country’s state of health.

Grant said Baltimore and Johns Hopkins are the “dream destination for any lacrosse nut,” and that this is the next natural progression in his coaching career.

Ironically, he’s a member of the staff replacing Dave Pietramala, likely the best player-coach combo in men’s lacrosse history. Grant hopes to carve out a similar path.

At the same time, Grant recognizes that he was brought in to help usher in a new era at Hopkins.

“We haven’t gone into this looking at what [the previous staff] did or didn’t do, but we’re looking at this with what we can do,” he said.

“I think I’ve joined forces with two of the best coaches in the country,” Grant added.

Milliman, who had spent the previous seven seasons with Cornell, “lives and breathes the game,” Grant said.

If anyone’s a bigger lax rat than Grant, it’s Milliman. And defensive coordinator Jamison Koesterer? Grant can’t wait to practice against his schemes.

“Jamison is an evil genius on the other end of the field,” Grant said.

And if anyone knows defense, it’s Grant. After all, he’s picked apart his fair share over his professional careers in both the MLL and NLL.

While the next phase of Grant’s lacrosse career will prioritize coaching over playing, he might not be done just yet. He said his left knee needs to be replaced — again. Grant survived a life-threatening infection in 2009 stemming from a knee replacement he had five years earlier, and kept playing even after doctors told him he was lucky not to lose his leg. He’s not sure if he’ll get that taken care of just yet. But don’t count him out. Never say never with Junior.

“Can I do it again? I don’t know,” he said. “But I’m going to try.”