Ja Morant pays tribute to Steven Adams with epic carousel on New Zealand native
Ja Morant and Steven Adams have played together for three seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies. Adams joined the Grizzlies in August 2021 following a blockbuster, three-team trade that sent former Grizzlies Jonas Valanciunas to the New Orleans Pelicans. The New Zealand native’s arrival helped jumpstart the Grizzlies' aspirations to become a championship-contending team.
A few days ago, the Grizzlies decided to trade the Kiwi to the Houston Rockets for Victor Oladipo, two second-round picks and a third-round pick. Adams injured his knee last season and underwent knee surgery just before the 2023-24 campaign. He couldn’t play with Morant, who also had a short-lived season due to a 25-game suspension and subsequent season-ending injury.
Ja Morant showed his appreciation for Adams with a simple but meaningful story on Instagram:
In Adams’ first season with Morant, they led the Memphis Grizzlies to a franchise-best 56-26 record and reached the Western Conference semi-finals. The Grizzlies gave the eventual champions Golden State Warriors everything they could handle before Morant’s injury swung the decisive edge to the Warriors.
The following season, Memphis had the second seed in the West again but was booted out by LeBron James and the LA Lakers. Steven Adams had an underrated role with the Grizzlies while Ja Morant struggled with nagging injuries and off-court issues.
The Kiwi’s trade meant that the Grizzlies would never get a chance to field their projected starting five of Morant, Adams, Jaren Jackson Jr. Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart.
Steven Adams desperately tried to hold the locker room together even before Ja Morant’s off-court issues erupted
The Memphis Grizzlies, behind Steven Adams, Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished the 2022-23 season with a 51-31 record. They finished with the second seed in the West due to their impressive 35-6 win-loss slate at home. The Grizzlies, however, were only 16-25 on the road.
Memphis’ away record around early March was even worse. The Grizzlies sported a 12-20 slate, the worst among playoff contenders. Morant’s off-court issues were already starting to come out but he hadn’t been involved yet in the gun-toting incident in Denver.
Adams reportedly tried to hold the team together while their superstar struggled with non-basketball-related issues. The Athletic's Shams Charania had this to say about the incident:
“I’m told there was a players-only meeting recently. Steven Adams, their veteran center, spoke out about how the team needs to show better discipline on the road and how they need to avoid going out on the road.”
Adams’ actions were rumored to be primarily directed at Ja Morant. The superstar guard eventually helped push the Grizzlies to the playoffs but lost to the LA Lakers in the second round. Game 6 of that series was the last time Morant and Adams were on the court together.