LeBron James Explained Why He Loved Heated Moments With Ja Morant in Lakers' Loss

"That's what the essence of the game is all about," the Lakers superstar said.

Ja Morant and LeBron James got into it last night / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Memphis Grizzlies took down the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in a 131-114 win that featured a lot of fireworks between the game's two biggest stars. Ja Morant and LeBron James dueled for most of the evening; Memphis's superstar point guard finished with 20 points in 24 minutes while The King put up an impressive 39-point, seven-rebound, six-assist statline.

Both players were happy to let the other know about their success, too. They were going back-and-forth with the trash-talking all evening. Things peaked late in the second quarter, when James bowled over Morant for a layup and made the popular "too small" gesture as Morant lay on the floor.

LeBron James hit Ja Morant with the "too small" gesture after this bucket 👀pic.twitter.com/X2X3BK2mMt

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 7, 2024

Thirty seconds later, Morant drove through the teeth of the Lakers' defense to score his own layup. As soon as the ball went in the basket he ran over to LeBron and gave him a hearty enough shoulder bump that a referee called a technical foul.

LeBron James hit Ja Morant with the "too small" gesture after this bucket 👀pic.twitter.com/X2X3BK2mMt

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 7, 2024

The whole sequence felt like a revival of the Lakers-Grizzlies rivalry that was budding in 2022-23 but didn't really come up last season with Morant missing nearly the entire year. James sounded glad about Morant's return, explaining to reporters afterwards how much he enjoyed battling with the high-flying guard.

"Two guys from the inner city that love to compete," James said. "We all grew up playing on a black top, playing outside, and competing at a high level when there's no cameras around. It's a bunch of s--- talking going on and playing the game. That's what the essence of the game is all about."

LeBron James spoke about how glad he is to see Ja Morant back on the court and explained that his back-and-forth with the Grizzlies star is “what the essence of the game is all about” pic.twitter.com/4dcKmuN56w

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 7, 2024

If anything, such extracurriculars provide tremendous entertainment for the fans so nobody should be complaining. It's good to see Morant back out there competing at a high level and that the Lakers-Grizzlies rivalry might still have some juice.

The two stars won't have to wait long to get back at it, as the Lakers and Grizzlies are set to meet again on Nov. 13.

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