Ja Morant's father, Tee Morant, had some tough love for his son when asked about his performance during the Memphis Grizzlies' 4-2 series win against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Tee referred to Ja's game as "trash" on Friday.
“Ja played like trash,” Tee said. “Yeah, trash.”
"told y'all," Ja responded to the viral clip on Twitter.
Despite his father's criticism, Ja finished the first-round series averaging 21.5 points, 10.5 assists, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 37.1 minutes per game. The feat made Ja only the second player in NBA history to average at least 20 PPG, 8 RPG, and 10 APG in a playoff series lasting six or more games. Magic Johnson is the only other player to do so.
Ja has spoken out about his father's tough love before, remarking during the 2019 NBA Draft that his dad was his "first hater."
“I really like the negative energy,” Morant said at the time. “He hasn’t played against nobody, he’s too small, he can’t shoot. I love negative energy, it motivates me. It really doesn’t bother me, because my dad was my first hater, so if I could take it from him, I can take it from anybody.”
The Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals starting on Sunday.
Check out Tee Morant's comments on his son's performance below.
[Via]
