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Coming up in the NBA Draft, Ja Morant drew many comparisons to Russell Westbrook given their playing styles and ability to lead their respective teams on the court.
Morant even grew up idolizing Westbrook based on his ability and tried to model his game after the former NBA MVP. The Memphis Grizzlies rookie finally squared off against Westbrook and the Houston Rockets this season and the rookie had the opportunity to share a moment with his idol.
Speaking on the “All The Smoke” podcast with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Morant shared what that moment was like to meet Westbrook.
Just watching him coming up, everything he was doing: Averaging a triple-double for three straight years. He is definitely a tough guy. He doesn’t care about who is on the floor, who is on the other side of the ball. He is going to be on go so that’s definitely a mentality I got.
I think our first game, Houston came to us. I think we ended up losing late in the fourth quarter and I talked to him after the game and he was just telling me, ‘Keep going. Keep being a killer and just keep pushing and leading the team.’ It was definitely one of those moments where you’ll be like, ‘Wow!’
As Morant mentioned, Westbrook did not play the Grizzlies in that first matchup but the rookie eventually matched up with Westbrook on the court for the first time on Feb. 26. Westbrook scored 33 points to lead the Rockets to a 140-112 win while Morant had 12 points and nine assists.
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