Ja Morant, Street Clothes And All, Risks It To Protect His Grizzlies Teammate In Tense Confrontation

Say what you want about Ja Morant, but he’s a real one for this.

Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant, sidelined in street clothes due to a calf injury, stormed to midcourt to confront Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija after he tripped Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward.

When you examine the video, Avdija indeed did appear to trip over Coward after he fell to the court and complained to the referees about there being no call. In response, Morant bolted from the bench to midcourt and squared up with Avdija, backing his teammate like it was second nature. (RELATED: Montana State Football Player Smacks Away Head Coach During Heated Playoff Confrontation)

Memphis staff quickly swooped in to pull Morant away from Avdija, who stood his ground unfazed in his defense. But still, it was cool to see Morant stick up for his teammate like that.

You can watch the video of the tense scene here … and also, we need to talk about this:

The Miami Heat have discussed a potential trade for Ja Morant, per @JakeLFischer

“Miami was already shaping into a surprising buyer on this trade market even before this week’s Giannis headlines. League sources say that the Heat, for example, have had internal discussions about… pic.twitter.com/9LYg1kBOi9

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 8, 2025

As a Miami sports fan, I’ve been on cloud nine. The Hurricanes made the College Football Playoff, Inter Miami won the MLS Cup, the Heat have been having a surprising year and could legitimately get Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Dolphins have been on a tear as of late winning game after game and let’s not forget that the Florida Panthers are back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions.

Now you want to tell me that the Heat are also in the running for Ja? … I rather have Giannis, but Lord have mercy, I’m about to pass out.