Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies closed out their Western Conference Quarterfinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night with a 114-106 win in Game 6.
The 22-year-old had 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. On the series, Morant averaged 21.5 points per game, including a 32-point performance in Game 1. In six games so far this postseason, Morant is averaging 10.5 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game.
Despite these numbers, someone with very close ties to Morant seemed to be less-than-happy with his performance against the Timberwolves.
Tee Morant, Ja’s father, on Friday interrupted FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul sports reporter Pierre Noujaim’s postgame report. The elder Morant was then asked by Noujaim for thoughts on how his son played during the series, and delivered a harsh response.
“Ja played liked trash,” he said. “Yeah, trash.”
When Ja says Tee Morant is his biggest hater, he’s not lying lol pic.twitter.com/7W9wstg0H5
— KJ (@kelwright) April 30, 2022
Tough love from his father is nothing new to Ja Morant, who has previously said that his dad is his first “hater.”
told y'all 😂💯 https://t.co/wIcfLEKEb6
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) April 30, 2022
Still, that’s some tough criticism, especially given that Ja Morant had an excellent series that included a memorable dunk and game-winning layup in Game 5. His numbers during the series weren’t far off from the regular-season stats that helped him earn the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
In 57 games during the season, the 2022 All-Star averaged 27.4 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game.
This isn’t the only time Tee Morant made headlines during this series. He went viral during Game 5 for his similar appearance to a famous singer.
The Grizzlies will now face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals, with Game 1 set to take place on May 1. Memphis won three of four games between the two during the regular season.
