“I know it’s ‘Black Jesus’… MJ has lost at things before” - Jay Williams believes it’s not an issue if Ja Morant thinks he can ‘cook’ Michael Jordan, questions why people get so crazy over this
Ja Morant voiced his belief that he could "cook" Michael Jordan. The basketball world erupted with rebuttal. But analyst Jay Williams questions why people are going so crazy.
Williams explained:
“I know it’s ‘Black Jesus’ … MJ has lost at things before.”
During a podcast this week, Ja Morant stated that he wished he had played in Michael Jordan’s era, and if he had, he would have "cooked" MJ.
Of course, the comments raised reactions across the board, mostly with rebuttals and comments voicing why Jordan would never lose.
Jay Williams outlined that Jordan has lost at things before, and losing in a game, or even a game of 1-on-1 does not demote his GOAT status.
Williams said:
“People want to overreact and think that, ‘uh that can never happen because that’s Michael Jordan, not the Michael, no. Michael could never lose a game of 1-on-1.'
"God forbid Mike lose one game to six points, 6 to 5, like, alright, so what? I don’t understand why this is such a big thing.”
Ja Morant is well known as a player for keeping his mouth open with comments exactly like the ones he made in the podcast. If there was any young player that one would guess would say something like that, it would be Ja Morant.
Though he might reign first on that list, it remains to be long. Many players probably believe they can beat Jordan 1-on-1 and would have said the exact same thing.
Comments like this stem from the competitive nature of athletes. Ja Morant probably believes he can beat anybody in a game, whether it be 1-on-1 or not. A mentality like this one is what separates different levels of competition.
Morant has proved that he is in the upper echelon of that spectrum. The young Grizzlies guard helped bring Memphis to the playoffs. He led his team and put up an excellent battle against eventual champions, the Golden State Warriors.
Many players on the Warriors have taken shots at Morant for his comments during their series and even after, and Morant seems to be living for it.
Any great, dedicated, young player's mind, should be that exact same thought. Surpassing the level of absolute greatness that precedes you is the spark that keeps most alive in their craft.
With that being said, the large reactions around Morant’s comments do start to seem offset.