Klay Thompson and Ja Morant have heated exchange on the basketball court

NBA stars Klay Thompson and Ja Morant rekindle three-year-old rivalry during heated back-and-forth on the court.

Klay Thompson and Ja Morant may have just rekindled their three-year-old rivalry.

On Saturday, Nov. 22, Thompson, 35, and Morant, 26 — after Morant’s team, the Memphis Grizzlies, beat out Thompson’s team, the Dallas Mavericks, 102-96 — got into a heated exchange on the court that required the NBA players, coaches, and teammates to break up before it escalated beyond words, Sports Illustrated reported.   

The exchange went down after Thompson attempted to make a three-point shot when Dallas was down by three points with 17 seconds left, but he missed. Memphis then won by six. Morant, who is presently sidelined with a calf strain, came off the bench after the game and went up to Thompson and said: “Tell them who the best shooter in the house was. It wasn’t bro from Golden State.”

While the moment thankfully ended without much fanfare and without anything coming to blows, this rift apparently has been brewing between the NBA stars since at least 2022, according to ESPN, when Thompson helped lead the Golden State Warriors to eliminate the Grizzlies from playoff contention on the way to a championship. 

During Thompson’s post-game interview, he didn’t shy away from addressing the situation when asked about the rift. 

“He’s a funny guy,” Thompson said in a clip circulating online. “He has a lot to say all the time, especially for a guy who rarely takes accountability, but that’s for another day.”

When pressed on what exactly Morant said during the exchange, Thompson said, “Nothing of intelligent depth.” 

“It was really just running his mouth, and he’s been running his mouth for a long time, and it’s funny to run your mouth when you’re on the bench,” he continued. “It’s kind of the story of his career so far, just leaving us wanting more. We all want to see him out there and do his best, but he’s just been letting a lot of other stuff get in the way of that. We need that in the NBA. We need our best players to be out there, and when you’re a star, it comes with a great responsibility. I hate to see that go to waste.”