NBA Media Personality Says OKC Thunder 'Stole' Memphis Grizzlies 'Entire Flow'

After the Memphis Grizzlies were considered one of the NBA's exciting, up-and-coming young teams a few years ago, Oklahoma City has joined Ja Morant and company in that category.

Dec 7, 2022; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) battle for a loose ball / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

On a recent episode of the popular NBA podcast, 'The Mismatch" one of the show's hosts accused the Oklahoma City Thunder of copying a few of the Memphis Grizzlies' tendencies.

Chris Vernon, a contributor at Grind City Media and one of two media members on the show, noted on the most recent episode that Memphis could be anticipating their matchups with OKC a little more than some fans might expect.

"I guess, like, Oklahoma City will be the one that (the Grizzlies) go after this year because they feel like Oklahoma City literally just stole their whole flow," Vernon said. "Like doing the whole team interviews after the games and, like, all that stuff."

According to Vernon, Ja Morant and the Grizzlies started participating in postgame interviews as a group during their two consecutive seasons reaching more than 50 wins.

these dudes 😂 pic.twitter.com/Xh52wVfEg0

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) October 28, 2022

In 2021-22, Memphis took a massive step forward by reeling off 56 wins in the regular season after winning just 38 the year prior. The Grizzlies followed their breakout campaign with another solid season that saw the team win 51 games in 2022-23.

As depicted in the video above, members of the Memphis' roster have been huddling for group interviews since 2022.

In 2023-24 when Oklahoma City began to establish itself as one of the best teams in the NBA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and others began to also participate in group interviews together.

As the season progressed, more of OKC's roster started to stand by during postgame interviews, adding their own flair by barking in the microphone when session ended.

"We all have our role on the team. We all have somewhere we like to get to. All we can do is get to it and trust our work. That's what we did and we pulled it out!" - SGA ⛈️#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/5freAeF5rG

— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) May 14, 2024

Regardless of whether the Thunder picked up their postgame interview tactics from Memphis or not, both squads are set to be competitors in the Western Conference this year and will be fighting for playoff seeding throughout the season.

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