Ja Morant and Klay Thompson got into a heated exchange after the final buzzer went off in the Grizzlies’ 102–96 win over the Mavericks on Saturday night.
Thompson attempted to make a three-point shot when Dallas was down by just as many points with 17 seconds left, but miss. Memphis then went off and won by six. Morant, who is sidelined with a calf strain right now, came off the bench after the game and went up to Thompson and said this: “Tell them who the best shooter in the house was. It wasn’t bro from Golden State.”
Understandably, Thompson was asked about this confrontation in his post-game media availability, and he of course had a lot to say about Morant.
“He’s a funny guy,” Thompson said. “He has a lot to say all the time, especially for a guy who rarely takes accountability, but that’s for another day.”
As for what Morant said to him, Thompson responded with this:
“Nothing of intelligent depth. It was really just running his mouth, and he’s been running his mouth for a long time, and it’s funny to run your mouth when you’re on the bench. It’s kind of the story of his career so far, just leaving us wanting more. We all want to see him out there and do his best, but he’s just been letting a lot of other stuff get in the way of that. We need that in the NBA. We need our best players to be out there, and when you’re a star, it comes with a great responsibility. I hate to see that go to waste.”
As Thompson alluded to, Morant’s missed a handful of games so far this season, some because of his calf strain and also because he earned a one-game suspension after he had public comments that challenged Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo.
The Mavericks and Grizzlies won’t play again until Feb. 27, so we’ll see what these two stars have to say to each other on the court in that matchup.
