The Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies played out a very intense Game 1 to start their Western Conference Semifinal series. The game came down to the last shot, with Ja Morant missing the lay-up that would’ve given them the victory. The game was eventful, with Draymond getting ejected and riling up the Grizzlies crowd, who were fully involved in everything that was happening on the court.
The crowd also included Tee Morant, Ja’s father, who has come into the limelight for the constant support he has shown to his son, especially during these playoffs. Tee is fast becoming a fixture in the crowd at Grizzlies games, and others recognize him following his entertaining and friendly rivalry with Karl-Anthony Towns’ father during the first-round series.
And after the game between the Warriors and Grizzlies ended, Morant was on hand to congratulate the triumphant Warriors on their win despite a demoralizing loss for Ja and the Grizzlies. He was seen hugging Curry and dapping up the other Warriors star after the game had reached its conclusion.
Steph and Tee Morant after the game 🤝 pic.twitter.com/bEc1IgTjr3
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 1, 2022
Tee Morant could have a rivalry with some truly interesting NBA fathers in this series, with Seth Curry joking about him beefing with his and Steph’s father Dell Curry. One of the NBA’s greatest trash-talkers ever, Gary Payton also has a son playing in this series, although that might be more smoke than even the senior Morant could handle.
Ja will be hoping that his father has more to gloat about as the series goes on, the Grizzlies gave a good account of themselves in Game 1 and even though they have now lost home-court advantage, have already shown the ability to overcome adversity. Morant himself almost had a 30-point triple-double, and if he can build on that moving forward, then the Warriors players may not be in a mood to be this friendly with his father after the games to come.
