Ja Morant’s response to ridicule from fans shows why he’s already an NBA star

Anyone who follows the Memphis Grizzlies will tell you Ja Morant is the face of the franchise. But some fans didn’t give him that respect.

Anyone who follows the Memphis Grizzlies will tell you Ja Morant is the face of the franchise. But some fans didn’t give him that respect.

During his time in the league thus far, Morant has made it abundantly clear that he is one of the NBA’s most exciting rising stars. To start the 2021-22 campaign, his third year in their league, he was averaging 24.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists. He was firmly in the MVP conversation to start the season. In fact, the first time he heard “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants from the crowd, he said he was so wowed that he nearly missed his free throws.

Unfortunately, a knee injury kept him sidelined from Nov. 28 until Dec. 19. But the Grizzlies went on a massive hot streak during Morant’s absence, winning 10 of their 12 games. Memphis outscored opponents by 16.5 points per 100 possessions, which was the best mark in the league during that span.

Morant returned to action on Monday night, and even without factoring in how tough it is to get back into the flow of the NBA’s pace and intensity, he had a solid performance. He contributed 16 points, six rebounds, eight assists, two steals, one block and he made his only 3-pointer.

The 22-year-old also gave us an incredible highlight of a skip pass to an assist with a celebration potentially inspired by Miley Cyrus (this video has language NSFW).

Despite his impressive efforts, the Grizzlies lost the game, and Morant was openly critical of his own performance (via Daily Memphian):

“We beat this team by 73, and then we lose the day I come back against this team. It’s frustrating. I was already in my head coming back out and trusting my knee after missing 12 games. Basketball is my escape, I feel at my best when I play. So, it’s really frustrating.”

While it’s obviously tough to read how harsh he was on himself, it’s even worse when you watch a visibly shaken Morant take to the post-game podium to tell reporters that some rotten fans sitting courtside added insult to injury.

Morant said that as he was running down the court, some of the comments that he heard were entirely out of line.

“Even during the game, I was running down the court and I heard some of my fans courtside tell me I need to sit back out. So, I just don’t understand what they wanted to get out of that. I feel like that just makes it worse.”

Look at Morant for even one second and you’ll see how much these cruel comments impacted him. They were unnecessary and another example of how often people at games forget that the people they paid to see are, in fact, people.

Morant added that while negative comments often fuel him, last night, the remarks legitimately hurt him. While he was confident he would bounce back in the next game, it still sucks to see him hurting.

After the game, the guard tweeted that he appreciated his “real ones” and that he was planning to take a break from social media for a while.

Frankly, even though I don’t think it’s representative of a bigger issue with the Grizzlies fanbase considering its been loyal and supportive of the former Murray State standout, I’m frustrated on Morant’s behalf. He is an outstanding young player who shouldn’t have to deal with that kind of poor behavior.

While it is a cold and harsh reality, Morant will continue to encounter some negativity from sports fans. However, the poise that he showed in his post-game press conference painted an impressive picture of who Morant is as a player and as a person. He seemed to take the comments to heart and could potentially use them to make himself better.

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