Dallas, Nov. 22, 2025 — Klay Thompson said he has heard enough from Ja Morant after the Memphis Grizzlies’ 102-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Morant, sidelined for a third consecutive game with a calf strain, exchanged words with Thompson as the final horn sounded at American Airlines Center. Security personnel and coaches stepped in before the confrontation could escalate.
“He’s a funny guy,” Thompson, 35, told reporters. “He has a lot to say all the time, especially for a guy who rarely takes accountability.”
Flashpoint on the floor
Tension simmered throughout the game. Midway through the second half, Thompson confronted Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama after Aldama tripped Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg in the backcourt, a play upgraded to a flagrant-1 on review. Later, trash talk between Thompson and Memphis wing Vince Williams Jr. drew double technical fouls.
Postgame jab from the bench
After the on-court exchange with Thompson, Morant walked over to Cam Spencer during the Grizzlies’ television interview and quipped, “Tell him who the best shooter in the house was. It wasn’t bro from Golden State.” Thompson had posted a season-high 22 points but missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 20.6 seconds remaining.
Thompson dismissed Morant’s comments as “nothing of intelligent depth” and referenced the guard’s off-court issues, including league suspensions for firearm incidents and a team-imposed penalty earlier this season following a confrontation with coach Tuomas Iisalo.
Morant’s recent struggles
The 26-year-old Morant is averaging 17.9 points while shooting 35.9% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc — all career lows. He served an eight-game suspension in 2022-23 and a 25-game suspension in 2023-24 for brandishing handguns on Instagram Live.
History of friction
Bad blood between Thompson and Memphis dates back to the 2022 playoffs, when Thompson’s Golden State Warriors eliminated the Grizzlies en route to his fourth NBA title. The veteran guard recalled “dirty stuff” from that series Saturday night, citing ex-Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks’s flagrant foul that fractured Gary Payton II’s elbow.
“They just talk a lot,” Thompson said of the current Grizzlies. “They’ve always talked a lot and never really backed it up, so I don’t respect that. Talk is cheap.”
Source: ESPN
