Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies suffered a heartbreaking last-second loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Grizzlies looked out during most parts of the fourth quarter. But a rally from the Grizzlies paired with the Lakers’ suffering a mini-collapse allowed the Grizzlies to get back into the game.
There were several moments were the Lakers thought they had it won. Even until the last second, where they let Morant take a long three. Unfortunately, Bazemore fouled Morant, and he would get 3 free throws, enough to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Throughout the night, Morant had been sensational, scoring 38 points, and making 8 out of his 9 attempted free throws. He made his first 2 free throws, bringing his total to 40, and bringing the Grizzlies just 1 point shy of the Lakers.
But it wasn’t to be, as Ja missed the final free throw, and walked out of the game as the Lakers celebrated their first win of the NBA season. Morant hopped on to Twitter really quickly and reacted to the game, something fans flamed him for.
failure builds character.
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) October 25, 2021
And his reaction to the game did not end there, as he aired more of his thoughts on social media and the press. On Twitter, Morant seemingly put a more positive spin on his missed free throw, noting that failure builds character.
https://twitter.com/Grizzmama1/status/1452502720083079173
When talking to the press, Ja Morant said that he didn’t care what his numbers were like. The only takeaway for him was missing the game-tying free throw. And while the Grizzlies have gotten better over his stint there, they are still not looked at as a serious threat in the league, something he is not happy about at all.
“I don’t care what I did in that game. I missed the free throw. That’s the only thing on my mind right now… I feel like we’ve been making statements since I’ve been drafted here…”
Morant is still very young and will have a lot of time to find success in the league. He is already one of the most exciting players in the league, and perhaps one of the best dunkers. This is why it is surprising that he doesn’t want to take part in the NBA dunk contest unless they pay him $1 million.
Regardless, he and the Grizzlies will be looking forward to improving on their previous season, where they made the playoffs for the first time in several years.
If they can reach a position where they can get to the second round, it will be a vital step in the development of Morant, who could be one of the best players in the world in years to come.
