After talking a big game all season, the whole world was watching to see if the Grizzlies could back it up come playoff time. Instead of proving themselves, however, they only proved the haters right after a brutal defeat against the Lakers in round one.
And now, in the aftermath of failure, the Grizzlies are facing backlash from fans and experts alike. At this point, it’s not over-selling it to call both Ja and Brooks the most hated players in the NBA and recent Twitter data proves that they have become social media’s favorite punching bags of late.
Most negative sentiment toward NBA players in the last 60 days: ⁰⁰Dillon Brooks: 78,805⁰Ja Morant: 62,422⁰LeBron James: 48,838⁰Draymond Green: 39,201⁰Ben Simmons: 19,210⁰Kyrie Irving: 14,615⁰Kevin Durant: 14,423⁰James Harden: 13,618⁰Joel Embiid: 13,609⁰Nikola Jokic:… pic.twitter.com/qACdvHusmj
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 4, 2023
It’s understandable that the Grizzlies would be the target of so much hate. They came into this season ultra-confident after their run to the Conference Semi-Finals last year and they refused to acknowledge any of their competitors as they were enjoying a particularly dominant stretch of play.
As the star and leader of the group, it’s Ja who helped build that culture in Memphis and now he’s finding out just how big of a problem it is. That’s not even to mention all of the off-court accusations that called his leadership and character into question.
For Brooks, one could make the case he is the most to blame for the Grizzlies being among the most widely hated franchises in the league. As a defensive stopper with an alpha-dog mentality, he brought a level of toughness and flare to the locker room that often became a distraction for his teammates. In the postseason, it all came to a head when he called out LeBron James and was punished for it massively.
Now, Brooks has been exiled from the team completely and Ja has to work to rebuild his reputation after a ruined season.
What’s Next For The Grizzlies?
On paper, the Grizzlies still have enough talent to compete with any team in the West. Together, the powers of Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and Steven Adams can easily make a run and validate the entire process and that’s probably why they will keep most of their core intact.
But unless something about the team’s mentality and approach gets adjusted, Memphis may never be able to reach its full potential and fans will keep the hate going as they have since their playoff elimination last week.
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