Kenyon Martin has a simple question for Ja Morant. When, exactly, did he become “tough”? On a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, former All-Star Kenyon Martin ripped into Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant for his postgame altercation with Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson after Memphis’ 102-96 win in Dallas.
Morant, out with a calf strain, got in Thompson’s face after the buzzer and pointed a bent arm toward him while jawing from the bench. Martin was not impressed.
“I wanna know when Ja became tough,” Kenyon Martin said. “If you really want smoke with him, right? Why you don’t extend your arm all the way? Why you got the bend in the elbow to point in the face? You fake tough and you fake like you want smoke with the dude.”
"I just wanna know when Ja became tough?… You fake tough.”
Kenyon Martin didn’t like Ja Morant pointing in Klay Thompson’s face 👀
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/0ZGoTgsHe6
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 25, 2025
The clip caught fire because it echoed what Klay Thompson himself said after the game. Thompson, who had a season-high 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting and 6-of-12 from three in the loss, called Ja Morant “a funny guy” who “has a lot to say all the time, especially for a guy who rarely takes accountability.”
The scene that set all this off was already wild. Morant spent most of the fourth quarter chirping from the sideline, then stepped to Klay Thompson near midcourt after the final horn. Security and staff rushed in before it turned into anything more than words. Morant later crashed Cam Spencer’s postgame interview, telling him, “Tell him who the best shooter in the house was. It wasn’t bro from Golden State.”
Right now, Klay Thompson has four rings and the last word. Ja Morant has the talent to change that narrative. At some point, though, the next chapter has to come from what he does on the floor, not from the bench.
