Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant had to combat more than just Stephen Curry and the Warriors during the team’s quest for a tenth consecutive win— he had to deal with a sizable contingency of Golden State fans inside FedEx Forum.
It’s one of the unfortunate plights of being one of the newest franchises in the NBA and in a small market. You have local Memphians who pledged fealty to some franchise long before there was an NBA team in Memphis.
These fans come out in noticeable droves when their team comes to Memphis. They’re usually the big-market teams that routinely appear in nationally televised games: the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls and the Warriors.
The local Golden State fans were loud inside FedEx Forum and the cheering reached a jarring halt when Ja Morant hit a victory-sealing basket at the end of the game in front of a small group of kids donning Golden State Warriors jerseys.
Ja Morant hopes to convert young Golden State fan into a Memphis Grizzlies fan
Morant, as it would appear, stared down the group of young fans after making the dazzling score. At least three young kids reached out their hands in hopes of getting a high five or fist bump.
Morant looked at the kids like they were aliens— and rightfully so. These kids had been rooting against him and Memphis the entire night.
https://twitter.com/jamorant/status/1481140829406306306?s=21
After the game, Morant shared what he thought of the moment.
“He was disrespectful with that jersey on,” Morant said.
When a reporter asked if he had mercy on the poor little kid, he without hesitation replied, “Nah.”
“We’re in Memphis. It looked like he wanted to cheer, but he had that jersey on,” Morant said shifting from seriously perturbed to laughing it off by the end of his thought.
“I apologize to him. But, in that moment, bro, take that jersey off and then dap me up,” he said making himself laugh.
gotta get the kid a @JaMorant jersey 😂 🎤 pic.twitter.com/fWvomiWhJq
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 12, 2022
“If somebody finds his information, I’ll send him myself,” Morant said, realizing the opportunity to convert the young man into a Memphis Grizzlies fan.
It shouldn’t take much to convert these big-market fans into Grizz fans. Morant is without a doubt the most exciting basketball player in the world right now.
Soon he’ll be an All-Star and perhaps on his way to some hardware. He’s currently the favorite to be named Most Improved Player but he’s also only a few spots away from being the favorite for league MVP, too.
As the season progresses, Morant is going to snap those big-market fans out of existence like he’s Thanos.