The recent tense exchange between Ja Morant and Klay Thompson late in the Grizzlies-Mavericks matchup about a week ago ignited a firestorm across the NBA landscape. What initially looked like routine exchanges during the game quickly escalated into an emotional confrontation after the game, with cameras capturing all angles. Everyone weighed in, fan or analyst, and suddenly, the moment felt far bigger than a single game.

Cameras even caught Morant sprinting in from the bench after the final buzzer, finger-pointing and jawing at Thompson as security and teammates stepped between them, all while Klay was walking Cooper Flagg toward the tunnel fresh off a 22-point, six-three performance in Dallas’ 102–96 loss.

Former Timberwolves guard Austin Rivers recently spoke about the fallout, addressing it on his podcast, Off Guard, saying, “Memphis has completely collapsed to a team that nobody really even wants to watch anymore, quite frankly.” And that’s the jarring part: just two seasons ago, this was a 56-win and then 51-win group that analysts were calling the West’s next powerhouse; now they’re sitting at 7–12 and still trying to rediscover themselves after moving on from Taylor Jenkins, the most successful coach in franchise history.

Rivers continued, “Everyone’s ready for [Ja Morant] to move on. I’m ready for him just to get back to playing basketball. I don’t really want to hear him talk this or that.” It’s been a running theme in Morant’s career, and something even Thompson echoed after the confrontation. During a postgame interview, Klay stressed that the best NBA players need to play, and since Morant is a star, he has “a great responsibility.”

He also noticed that Klay being as respected around the league and Morant’s recent suspension and poor play have shifted the sentiment, and this recent interaction isn’t doing anything to help. “It was a tough one for Ja to get into it because people are like, ‘Yo, you saying he’s a bum now?’” he said, highlighting how quickly sentiment shifted.

He then defended Thompson’s legacy and perspective, adding that he’s “given everything he’s got already,” and that Thompson is just, “playing for the love of the game.” Rivers explained, “Anything Klay Thompson does from here on out is added to an already cemented legacy. He’s a top three shooter in the history of the game.” For Morant to take a verbal swing at him only reinforced the widening divide between a multi-championship veteran and a star fighting to regain footing.

Ja Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies are struggling with him at the helm: a 7-12 record and their star point guard recording the worst numbers of his career since his rookie season, with even worse efficiency to boot. For a guy who’s averaged 22.4 points on 46.5% shooting for his career, crashing down to 17.9 points on 35.9% from the field and just 16.7% from three this season doesn’t read like a minor slump; it looks like a completely different version of Morant.

To make things even worse, in the last five of Memphis’s games, all without Morant, the team has a 3-2 record, versus a 4-8 record with him playing. Things need to change, whether that be the system or Morant himself. Zooming out a bit, StatMuse has Memphis at 3–4 without him this season and 76–91 all-time when he doesn’t suit up, so this little 3–2 stretch is a sharp contrast for a franchise that once lived and died with Morant on the floor.

Mychal Thompson Delivers Calm Reality Check After Ja Morant Situation

Klay Thompson’s father and former NBA center Mychal Thompson also chimed in on the confrontation with Ja Morant. Recently, during an appearance on Mason and Ireland, he was asked how he would’ve reacted if he was in Klay’s position after Ja Morant reportedly called the Mavs guard a “bum.”

Instead of escalating the issue, Mychal was centered on maturity. “If I was Klay, and if somebody said that to me, being a four-time champion, I would just ignore it and walk away,” he said, highlighting that achievements speak for themselves. “Nobody said it about me. I got four rings, I’m going to the Hall of Fame, why should I even bother? Come on.”

Coming from a two-time NBA champion who spent years backing up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and now breaks down games on Lakers radio, that “I’ve got four rings, why bother?” line lands less like a dad blindly riding for his son and more like a veteran’s handbook on how to survive this kind of noise.

Mychal’s commentary lends more support to Thompson, further emphasizing the contrast between the two parties’ careers. While Klay plays out his twilight years as a sure first-ballot Hall of Famer, Morant is embroiled in controversy and a career that seems like it’s on a crash course.