Following a viral interaction Tuesday night in Memphis, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant offered to buy a young Warriors fan in attendance a new jersey to properly rep the hometown squad. Now, it appears that his team may have it covered.
The Grizzlies announced Wednesday a “New Year, New Jerseys” promotion in which kids 12 and under can exchange an old jersey of an opposing team player for either a Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis jersey on Thursday in addition to receiving tickets to the night’s game.
The savvy move comes after a moment in the final seconds of the Grizzlies’ thrilling win on Tuesday over the Warriors at home. After Morant was fouled on an and-one layup that put the game out of reach, he took a celebratory few steps toward the stands.
One member of the raucous crowd stood out in particular: a young child in a Warriors jersey, who stretched out his hand for a high-five. Morant did not oblige, leaving the kid hanging as he returned to the court to shoot his free throw.
The moment instantly took off on social media, especially when Morant joked about it in his postgame press conference.
“He was disrespectful with that jersey on,” Morant told reporters. “We in Memphis. He looked like he wanted to cheer, but he had that jersey on. I apologize to him. But in that moment, bro, take the jersey off and then dap me up.”
Morant offered moments later to send the child a Grizzlies jersey himself, and the team jumped in hours later to offer the promotion to any kids in the area. It’s unclear whether or not the young Golden State fan will take them up on it, but if Morant has anything to say about it, the next time he comes to FedEx Forum, he’ll be in Memphis blue.
