What Happened Between Ja Morant and Klay Thompson? Tempers Flare After Mavericks Loss to Grizzlies
The tensions between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks tonight didn’t end when the final buzzer rang; instead, they were magnified. After a hard-fought game between the two struggling squads, Mavs guard Klay Thompson and Grizzlies star Ja Morant got into a heated verbal argument, with referees and teammates having to step in to separate them. But what actually happened?
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It all began in the third quarter. After being on the floor, Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama tripped Mavs rookie Cooper Flagg, causing him to fall. After the trip occurred, Thompson got into an argument with Aldama, standing up for the rookie as the referees signaled an official review, separating the two. Aldama was assessed a flagrant one foul.
Klay Thompson and Ja Morant had to be separated after tonight’s game.
Thompson was jawing with Santi Aldama and Vince Williams Jr. during the game as well.
Never seen Thompson talk this much smack in a game since he arrived in Dallas. He was fired up.
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) November 23, 2025
Thompson had been on fire all game, and kept chirping at his opponents, with the match getting increasingly physical. Klay then got into another heated sequence, this time with Vince Williams Jr. Afterward, when the game ended, Morant pointed right at Thompson, getting in his face, igniting a confrontation, resulting in multiple teammates and coaches having to separate the two.
Soon after the confrontation occurred, a fan behind the Grizzlies bench told reporters that Morant and Klay had been going at each other for the last few minutes of the game, with one of the comments made by Ja reportedly being, “[Megan Thee Stallion] is using you, you falling for the bait. She been with 100 n—-s before you.” Megan and Klay began dating earlier this year, and have been extremely public about their relationship.
Later, when Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer was being interviewed on the court, Ja Morant came by to congratulate him, but let slide an intriguing comment. Morant said, “Tell ’em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn’t bro from Golden State.” Now, given his argument with Klay, who had a long-standing run with Golden State before his current tenure in Dallas, some fans might instantly look at it as a dig towards Thompson. However, it’s also worth noting that Spencer’s brother Pat plays for the Warriors, so it might have been a lighthearted comment. Morant leaving his comments up to interpretation only intensifies the speculation.
Ja Morant crashes Cam Spencer’s postgame interview to hype him up…and take a dig at Klay Thompson, who was jawing at the Grizzlies all game.
“Tell ’em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn’t bro from Golden State.”
— Matt Infield (@Matt_Infield) November 23, 2025
Morant and Thompson’s confrontation does have history. Back when Klay was with the Warriors, Memphis and Golden State met multiple times in key games, including the 2021 play-in game and the 2022 Western Semifinals. Both settings were heated, with the sides going back and forth, and Klay even taunted then-Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks during a regular season game, earning a technical foul.
Chippy Fourth Quarter Sets Stage for Postgame Clash in Mavs-Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies’ grind-it-out 102-96 win already had a hard edge to it before the final buzzer, and the numbers clearly showed why. Memphis leaned hard on Santi Aldama and Cam Spencer’s scoring spark, along with a 61-41 rebound advantage on the glass. Zach Edey hammered the paint, and Dallas struggled to find rhythm; both teams shooting poorly enough that every possession felt like a battle.
Imago
Feb 12, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) walks off the court after the Mavericks defeat the Golden State Warriors at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Emotions ran high late in the game. Aldama’s lead-taking layup, Edey’s monstrous block on Daniel Gafford, and Klay Thompson‘s missed game-tying three all dropped in a tense stretch where both teams were throwing haymakers at each other. Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. were out, and Memphis leaned heavy on their role players,
By the end, the chippiness, which had built the whole night, was fully visible. Thompson finished with a season-high 22, and kept battling with Vince Williams Jr., who’s had to take up point guard duties due to a heavily depleted guard room.
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