Ja Morant Hilariously Confident, Despite Being Swept By OKC Thunder

The fight between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies wasn't particularly close this season and hasn't been for a while.

Memphis last beat Oklahoma City on Dec. 7, 2022. They were swept 4-0 in the regular season during the 2024-25 campaign and ousted in the same fashion during the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

Luckily for the Beale Street Ballers, their season is mercifully over. One that saw injuries, bad roster decisions, its best coach in franchise history being fired and plenty of failure.

As the Grizzlies jet off to Cancun, they benefit from the best thing in sports: Random hypotheticals that can never be proved.

Memphis superstar Ja Morant left Game 3 early after a hard fall that hurt his hip and missed the deciding Game 4 between the Grizzlies and Thunder. On Sunday, with their season in the rearview, it was exit interview day in Memphis.

Unsurprisingly, Morant's confidence is not shaken by this season or the Grizzlies First Round result.

"I had them figured out. Going out Game 3, not being able to play was frustrating because that win right there could've made this totally different," Morant said. "I feel like we'd be on the way to OKC, series tied 2-2 right now."

This is laughable from a star who is known for outlandish quotes such as being fine in the West. Despite his inability to win anything of note. That isn't to say he will never win or isn't capable long-term, but he hasn't yet.

Though that hasn't stopped Morant from talking the talk, he just hasn't figured out how to walk the walk.

The Grizzlies had finally figured out how to compete against the Thunder. After four regular-season blowout losses to Oklahoma City, a historic beatdown in Game 1 and another lopsided loss in Game 2, there was a different chapter in these two teams' 2024-25 story.

In Game 3, it was a historic choke job, blowing a 29-point lead, the second largest in NBA Playoff history. Progress, after four straight snooze fests from Memphis. The Grizzlies fought hard in a Game 4 closeout game, but didn't have enough to defend home court and extend their season.

Obviously, the Morant injury hampered the Grizzlies in its quest to cling to such a wide lead, but Memphis won 48 games this season with its superstar only logging 50 total games. They are no strangers to playing without the former No. 2 overall pick. In the past four years, the Grizzlies star has only played over 60 games once.

Though, for the sake of argument, give the Grizzlies Game 3. Act as though its 3-point shooting was sustainable and Oklahoma City –– who beat Memphis by 51 in Game 1 –– wouldn't have been able to turn up the heat defensively in the second half to make a comeback in the same way.

Game 4 is a completely different ball game and no one knows how it would've played out. Who is to say if that game is replayed with Morant, that Oklahoma City still shoots just 20% from beyond the arc again with this mulligan? A mark that was still good enough to outlast the Grizzlies.

Morant is great for the NBA, his unbridled confidence creates the drama and storylines that sell in this league. No matter how outlandish they are. Though he is the only one who feels that way on Beale Street right now.

“Forty-eight wins, good for an eight seed, but who cares. It's not good enough," Grizzlies General Manager Zach Kleiman said at his exit interview Sunday.

Morant can hold onto hypotheticals. The Thunder have to move on to reality. The Second Round of the NBA Playoffs. A destination Morant has reached once in his career.

Ja Morant paused because he wanted to be careful with his words, but he clearly had more to say when asked about how the OKC series turned out.

“I had them figured out.”

Added that he believes the series would be tied 2-2 headed back to OKC if he didn’t get hurt.
— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) April 27, 2025