You come at the king, you best not miss. And come at the king Ja Morant has after the Memphis Grizzlies superstar claimed he wouldโve made prime Michael Jordan look ordinary.
โI wish I wouldโve played in his generation,โ Ja Morant said of the Chicago Bulls legend during an interview with Bleacher Report.
โJust how he go about the game, that mindset he hadโฆ I would like to play against himโฆ I wouldโve cooked him, too.โ
RELATED: Michael Jordan Ruined The Game Of Basketball, Says Scottie Pippen
โNobody got more confidence than 12. Iโm never go and say nobody gonโ beat me in one-on-one or anything.โ
As you can imagine, the internet reacted in a very calm manner upon hearing Michael Jordan slander, especially from a young blood like Ja Morant. Check out some of the Twitter responses below.
Viral soundbite aside, the confidence is understandable given the Grizzlies star guard has just recorded his best-ever professional season to date โ averaging 27.4 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 34.4% from the three-point line.
Morant was also named the NBAโs Most Improved Player following his 2021-22 campaign, and recently signed a five-year contract extension with Memphis valued at $193 million.
โItโs so exciting to watch this guy play. At one point this season, he was leading the league in points scored in the paint per game, with 14.7,โ BHโs Henry Garnett previously explained.
RELATED: Ja Morant Is Exactly What The Modern NBA Was Looking For
โThere are only 15 guys in the history of the NBA who have averaged that many points at the rim, and they were all substantially bigger than the 6โ3โณ frame of Ja Morant.โ
โThe guy has constantly been doubted. He went from being unranked in high school, to being in the shadow of Zion Williamson in the 2019 NBA Draft, before becoming an All-Star starter this year in his third season.โ
โAn electric playing style, a big smile, and a whole lot of charismaโฆ Thatโs LeBron James. Thatโs Michael Jordan. Thatโs Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. Mark my words, that will also be Ja Morant.โ
Beyond our own assertions, the emerging talent has already been compared to Kobe Bryant by Shaquille OโNeil himself.
โYou shouldโve seen his little cute face when I said, โYo man, youโre the best player in the league.โ He was like โHuh?โโ Shaq said of Ja Morant.
โIโm not playing with you broโฆ youโre the bestโfor real. I promise youโre the best.โ
โJa is good. Penny was like that, Kobe was like that. This kid, it will definitely be his league in a few years.โ
High praise.
