Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant appeared to give up on his team and coaching staff during Friday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. In the second half, Ja became noticeably less aggressive on the court and even looked completely disinterested in the game at times (while playing!). NBA fans absolutely took notice of the disgraceful display from Ja, as did Amazon Prime’s analyst Blake Griffin, who gracefully called Morant out during the postgame without being disrespectful.
“I didn’t love what I saw from Ja Morant tonight,” Griffin said. “This is a guy who is insanely talented … (but he wasn’t) even engaged at all (against the Lakers) … for a guy that’s making $40 million and needs to be the leader of this team, I just don’t love it. I don’t know if he was not feeling well (or) if he’s hurt, but that to me is a very bad sign, and it’s something that has to change.”
Griffin’s comments are a good reminder that we should never assume we know what’s going on with another human being. Maybe Morant is going through something tough in his personal life that is leaking onto the court.
Fair enough. But on the other side of the coin, people are generally expected to put their best foot forward if and when they show up to work, and if Morant really is going through something, taking time away from basketball would be a better outcome than what he’s currently doing.
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Not surprisingly, Grizzlies fans weren’t thrilled with Ja’s antics on Friday.
It’s also interesting to note that Ja’s attitude appears to stem from an ongoing problem he has in Memphis, particularly with the Grizzlies’ coaching staff. Ja’s postgame interview was bad vibes all around, as he deflected questions about what went wrong during the game to the coaching staff and took on an immature and petty energy.
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Morant is coming across like an extremely unhappy player and person right now for the Grizz, and while it’s unclear what’s going on, he’s not doing himself any favors in terms of establishing a reputation as a respectable pro and a winning player.
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Number one, you absolutely never give up on your teammates, coaches, and fans in the middle of a game. Ja broke that rule in a big way on Friday, and he’s probably going to discover pretty soon that nothing ever good comes of cheating the game like that.
Number two, an athlete will often reveal their inner character when they find themselvs on a losing team or in a less-than-ideal situation from a coaching or teammates standpoint. Players who are mentally strong will make the best of the situation, buckle down, avoid complaining, and do whatever they can to contribute to winning.
Ja looks and sounds like someone one the other end of the spectrum: entitled, unaccountable, negative, and in need of circumstances around him to be ideal in order to thrive.
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That’s not a winning mentality. It’s disrespectful, too, and while trade rumors are already buzzing about Ja potentially leaving Memphis, there’s plenty of franchises who aren’t at all interested in adding a losing attitude to their locker room.
Ja is a heck of a talent (as Griffin alluded to). Basketball is better when he’s happy and thriving, so let’s hope the current mess gets sorted out, whether that means Ja taking some accountability in Memphis or removing himself from the situation and getting a fresh start somewhere else.
Featured image via Petre Thomas/Imagn Images
