The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-96 at the American Airlines Center on Saturday, and Ja Morant had some words for Klay Thompson after the game. Morant and Thompson got into it after the final buzzer, and the former appeared to send a brutal message to the latter during their exchange.
“You a bum now,” Morant appeared to be telling Thompson.
Ja Morant to Klay Thompson 🍿
“You a bum now” pic.twitter.com/RQrucXXLFY
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) November 23, 2025
Thompson was chirping with the Grizzlies all night, and you’d better win when you talk as much as he did. This is what happens when you don’t.
Thompson has a lot of history with the Grizzlies as well. It all began when he faced off against them in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2022, while he was with the Golden State Warriors.
It proved to be a very ill-tempered series thanks largely to Dillon Brooks, and the Warriors would end up winning in six en route to capturing the championship. In his press conference afterward, Thompson called Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. a bum for mocking their “Strength in Numbers” mantra.
That could well be why Morant appears to have called Thompson a bum here. He had fired a shot at the four-time champion back then as well for bringing up the Grizzlies in that moment.
Getting back to the present, while the 35-year-old Thompson has indeed struggled mightily this season, he had easily his best game of the campaign against the Grizzlies. The five-time All-Star put up 22 points (7-17 FG) and one rebound on the night, but took a wild three-pointer in the closing stages, which all but sealed the Mavericks’ fate.
Klay missed from the logo 💀
What year does he think this is 😭pic.twitter.com/pYK7AaBBwd
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) November 23, 2025
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd stated postgame that this was the look they were going for, so you can’t be too hard on Thompson. Still, that was an interesting decision, to say the least.
This loss dropped the Mavericks to 5-13 on the season, and Thompson has cut a frustrated figure amid their struggles. Morant’s taunting would have just added to that. Many believed the two-time All-Star took another shot at Thompson after the game, too, when he crashed Cam Spencer’s postgame interview, but that might not be the case.
“Tell ’em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn’t bro from Golden State,” Morant said.
Ja Morant crashes Cam Spencer’s postgame interview to hype him up…and take a dig at Klay Thompson, who was jawing at the Grizzlies all game.
“Tell ’em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn’t bro from Golden State.”
— Matt Infield (@Matt_Infield) November 23, 2025
Morant might have actually been referring to Pat Spencer, Cam’s brother, who plays for the Warriors. Cam certainly shot well in this one, as he had 17 points (6-10 FG), four rebounds, five assists, and one steal against the Mavericks.
With this result, the Grizzlies are now on their first two-game winning streak of this season. It’s quite interesting that they have pulled that off without Morant, who has been out due to a Grade 1 calf strain.
The Grizzlies, who improved to 6-11, take on the Denver Nuggets next at FedExForum on Monday at 8 PM ET. The Mavericks, meanwhile, face the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center on Monday at 7:30 PM ET.
