Ja Morant, who gave his mother the ideal birthday present by winning the game in his NBA comeback against the Pelicans, has acknowledged that he had “a lot of hard days” during his 25-game suspension. He also thanked his “brothers” on the Grizzlies for their support.

In Memphis’ 115-113 victory over New Orleans on Tuesday night, the 24-year-old guard concluded an impressive 34-point season debut with a whirling dribble in the lane that set up a critical floater with seconds remaining.

The Grizzlies, who had lost their previous five games and were 6-19 when Morant was suspended due to his antics with weapons on social media, fell down by 24 points at the half before taking a 113-111 lead on an inside hoop by Morant with 1:22 remaining.

Before Morant’s buzzer-beater, the Pelicans had knotted the game and both teams had missed 3-pointers. The two-time All-Star said twice that he’s a “dog” in a postgame interview with TNT Sports before going into detail about his lack of playing time since March.

“I’ve been working hard, man.” I’ve got a lot of time to learn for myself—I haven’t played a game in eight months,” remarked Morant. I’ve had a lot of difficult days, but basketball is my passion, my life, and my form of therapy, so I’m thrilled to be back.
In response to a question about the Grizzlies’ final play of the game, Morant mentioned his jersey number. He stated, “Called 12,” adding that he wasn’t really in favor of coach Taylor Jenkins calling a timeout.


“[…] They had faith in me.” After eulogizing his friends, Morant continued, “I actually wanted to go on a trip to the post, but they told me no, so I had to deliver for them.”

“They are my brothers, my guys.” Together, we worked hard. rigorous exercises. light-hearted methods. Therapy. Aircraft. Together, we are together all the time. They have been a huge assistance to me during this process.

Simply expressing encouragement, asking me to remain true to myself and to keep working, and showing their belief in me, all of which demonstrates how happy everyone else is for me to be back.

“Happy birthday, Mom! I’m heading home.”

The top two NBA draft picks in 2019—Morant and Williamson—only played in the same game seven times overall, despite playing in the same division. This is largely due to Williamson’s health concerns.

On Thursday night, the Grizzlies (7-19) will play host to the Indiana Pacers.

They are ranked above the Portland Trail Blazers (6-19) and San Antonio Spurs (4-21) in the Western Conference as the 13th seed.

On Thursday night, the Pelicans travel to Cleveland to play the Cavaliers.