Ja Morant is certainly not short on confidence. In a wide-ranging sit-down interview with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks, Morant talks about playing in Michael Jordan’s era and the Grizzlies’ back-and-forth with the champion Golden State Warriors.
“I wish I played in his generation,” said Morant when asked about Michael Jordan. “I would’ve cooked him too. Nobody got more confidence than 12. I’m never going to say nobody going to beat me 1-on-1.”
"I would've cooked him too" đ@JaMorant is confident he would've beat Michael Jordan in his era pic.twitter.com/TEKJtcgqJC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 10, 2022
Of course that quote is generating a ton of social media buzz for all the obvious reasons. Take it at face value, it is what it is.
Morant knows his NBA history and understands who Jordan was as a player and recognizes that greatness. During the interview his tone when discussing Jordan is reverential. It was only when asked about playing against him, that the tone shifted to that of a competitor.
The NBA is full of about 450, give or take, hyper-competitive dudes. At some point or another everyone in that league was “the man” on one or more of their teams throughout their basketball journey. That confidence and feeling never truly leaves you.
To have a career in the most competitive league in the world, you need a level of irrational confidence or else you won’t make it.
Now, when we’re talking about the best in the game that’s a whole different level of self-belief.
Morant was an All-Star starter and made All-NBA second team this year. That means by whatever metric you want to use, he is a top 10 player. He’s in elite company with MVPs and champions.
Ask any player in the top 10 if they think any other player is better than them, and you’ll get a firm no. Doesn’t matter who it is. That’s how these guys are wired.
"Parts of Jordan have been underrated by the general public. Some of his greatest seasons, on both ends of the court, were before the Bulls won anything. … Yeah, I do think Ja would cook Jordan. And Jordan would cook Ja. It would be an entertaining match." â @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/0QhZ7yqmkC
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 11, 2022
Of course Morant is going to think he would cook Jordan. He’s a competitor. In a competition he’s not thinking of Jordan as a five-time MVP, six-time Finals MVP, etc. He sees him as someone on the court he’s trying to beat. That’s the way it should be.
During the interview Morant also talked about his infamous “rent free” tweet in response to the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson calling out Morant’s teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. for a “Strength In Numbers” tweet back in February after a win over the Warriors.
got a lot of real estate đ https://t.co/5JYqhn8Vw0
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) June 17, 2022
“Strength in Numbers” is the Warriors’ mantra from their first title run with Thompson, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green. After they won the title this year, the Warriors came for everyone who had something negative to say while they struggled the last two seasons.
"If I won a championship, I wouldn't think about no other team or what somebody said months ago" đ
Ja Morant on his Warriors real estate tweet after the NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/hvnFlZSLmq
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 10, 2022
As Morant said, when you win you can say whatever you want. Those are the rules. It’s hilarious that the players are so petty and love sticking it to each other on social media.
The Warriors stunt and trash talk with the best of them. What did they think was going to happen when they struggled? Of course the other players in the league were going to revel in that and stick it to them. But they’re back on top now and the rest of the league will have to deal with them running their mouths.
Grizzlies vs. Warriors is turning into a nice little rivalry. NBA schedule makers need to make all of those matchups marquee for the upcoming season. Christmas Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the first ABC Saturday night primetime game of the season should be at the top of the list.
