January 14th, 2020. The Memphis Grizzlies are facing the Houston Rockets in their second regular season matchup. About halfway through the first quarter, rookie sensation Ja Morant brings the ball up towards the top of the key. He’s maybe 30 feet out from the hoop, and his defender–James Harden— is giving him about seven or so feet of space. Morant sees that, shoots a 3-pointer, and sinks it. That’s when those immortal words were uttered.
“Tell that (expletive) about me.”
To many in the league, this was Morant’s “coming out party”. This was the moment that people around the league really began appreciating Morant for who he is: a phenomenal rookie talent who could be one of the cornerstone talents in the league.