Poppin' Off with Ja Morant
At NBA All-Star Weekend we tested Memphis "point-god" Ja Morant to see how well the rookie sensation would handle rapid our fire questions while still showing off his skills at Pop-A-Shot. This is Poppin' Off!
Video Transcript
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Welcome into Yahoo Sports. I'm Michelle Gingras, joined by Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies. We're gonna play a little game called Poppin' Off. Take a look at the leaderboard. Leading scorer right now is Aaron Gordon, with 145. You think you got a shot at beating that score?
JA MORANT: Yeah. It looked like he was dunking everything.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Yeah. Yeah. It was-- he got close. But I believe in you. So the name of the game, you get 60 seconds to shoot as many buckets as possible while answering my hard-hitting questions. You ready?
JA MORANT: Yeah, I'm ready.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: OK. This is Poppin' Off.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- Hurray!
- Go!
[WHISTLE TWEETING]
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Point guard you watched growing up?
JA MORANT: Penny Hardaway.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: First jersey you ever owned?
JA MORANT: LeBron.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Favorite thing to do on an off day?
JA MORANT: Play Fortnite.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Best cheap meal?
JA MORANT: Burger.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Olympic event you compete in other than basketball?
JA MORANT: Track and field.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Game day superstitions?
JA MORANT: I listen to the same song.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: What's the song?
JA MORANT: Lil Baby-- any Lil Baby song.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Best facial hair in the NBA?
JA MORANT: Jonas Valanciunas.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Memphis barbecue or South Carolina barbecue?
JA MORANT: [LAUGHING] Both.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: OK. [LAUGHING] Poster dunk or a three pointer from the logo?
JA MORANT: Poster dunk.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Best sports movie?
JA MORANT: "Coach Carter."
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Teammate with the best style?
JA MORANT: Dillon Brooks.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: The hardest person you've ever had to guard?
JA MORANT: Kyrie Irving.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Favorite arena that you've played in?
JA MORANT: FedExForum.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Best thing about Memphis, Tennessee?
JA MORANT: Barbecue.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: One thing no one knows about your AAU teammate Zion?
JA MORANT: He was quiet.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: OK. Broccoli or cauliflower?
JA MORANT: Broccoli.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Ooh! 109.
- Ooh!
MICHELLE GINGRAS: All right. Not bad.
- Overtime.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: You stumbled to answer when I asked you Memphis barbecue or South Carolina barbecue. Why? Like, why were you laughing about that?
JA MORANT: Because it's a question I get asked all the time.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: All the time, really? And you're just sick of it? I'm sorry.
JA MORANT: No, I'm not sick of it.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: I thought we were being creative when we--
JA MORANT: My first time I sad South Carolina, and then Memphis kind of, you know, got after me a little bit.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: Understand. Yeah.
JA MORANT: And then I know if I say Memphis, South Carolina will get after me. So I'm gonna just go with both.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: OK. You said one thing no one knows about Zion is that he was quiet.
JA MORANT: Yeah.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: You don't think he's quiet anymore?
JA MORANT: Nah. I feel like he's-- he's a little more open now, a little outspoken. You know, he's just having way more fun with you now.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: You've-- you've exceeded expectations your-- your entire career. That's nothing new for you. What has it taught you about yourself, though, along the way?
JA MORANT: I mean, that I'm capable of playing with the best who ever played. But just continue to just stay humble and just keep doing what I'm doing.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: And you did a podcast with our buddy Chris Haynes. You called yourself with the point god.
CHRIS HAYNES: What's your natural position? Do you have a natural position, or are you just a basketball player?
JA MORANT: I'm a point god.
CHRIS HAYNES: You're a point guard, huh?
JA MORANT: God.
CHRIS HAYNES: Oh, excuse me, point god. [LAUGHING] Excuse me. I missed that, point god.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: You've lived up to that so far this season. Going into this year, what were your goals for yourself?
JA MORANT: I just had one goal. And that was to be better at the end of the season than I was at the beginning. And I'm still living by that, just trying to get better each and every day.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: And last but not least, this Memphis team, we've talk to your teammates before as well. There's something special that you guys have. A lot of them said the chemistry. You really enjoy hanging out with one another. Would you agree with that and that that's helped to translate onto the court?
JA MORANT: Definitely. I feel like that's number one. But, like, most people think that's a small thing, you know, hanging out or stuff. But I feel like kt created a bond that can't be broken. And it translates on the floor for us, being able to know exactly what our guys want to do with the basketball and where they want to be at. It shows.
MICHELLE GINGRAS: All right. Thanks so much for stopping by and playing Poppin' Off with us. We appreciate you and good luck to you. For all things NBA, make sure you keep it locked right here on Yahoo Sports.