Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies have been the hottest team in the NBA for the last few weeks, riding a stretch of nine wins in the last 10 games to rise to the top of the Western Conference standings. Morant and the Grizzlies traveled to play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night, and a rough second quarter for Memphis went from bad to worse when Morant was ejected before halftime.
Ja Morant got the weirdest ejection of the NBA season after interaction with fan
Morant was ejected after talking with a courtside fan. Then he did FaceTime with them.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The Thunder beat the Grizzlies, 115-109, in a game marred by Morant’s ejection for a seemingly friendly interaction with a courtside fan. Just before halftime, Morant was talking back and forth with a fan before referee Ray Acosta kicked the superstar point guard out of the game. Morant continued to gesture to the fan as he was leaving the court, seemingly signaling that it was all good between them. As the Thunder continued to take control of the game with Morant in the locker room, his father Tee Morant did FaceTime with Ja and went over to chat with the fans he got ejected for talking to.
Watch Morant’s ejection here:
What did Morant really get kicked out for? This feels like an incredibly soft ejection, and it robs the OKC fans who paid high ticket prices to come to the game a chance to see a superstar like Morant for four quarters. The Grizzlies seem to have no idea what Morant did to deserve the ejection. For his part, Morant gave the fan thumbs up as he walked off the floor.
Here’s video of Morant’s dad going over the courtside fans so Ja could speak with them over FaceTime:
The officials explained why Morant was ejected after the game. They said he was assessed the first technical foul because he used profanity directed at an official, and then he got a second technical for questioning the integrity of the officiating.
Here’s Morant’s response to the officials’ explanation. Cap means lie.
No one is coming to the arena to see the refs. They need to chill out, control the game, and let the best players decide the outcome.
The Grizzlies remain on top of the West despite the loss because the New Orleans Pelicans also lost to the Phoenix Suns. Memphis’ seven-game winning streak is no more, and they’re about to tested with games against the Nuggets, Suns (x2), Raptors, Pelicans, and Kings looming (also the Stephen Curry-less Warriors).
This is the strangest ejection of the NBA season so far. Let’s hope Morant can keep being himself while staying on the court.
See More:
