Was Klay Spitting or Tripping With His Comments About Ja Morant? – Full Breakdown

The drama between Klay Thompson and Ja Morant didn’t start last night, but their latest exchange has the NBA world arguing about who crossed the line.

It all popped off after the game when Ja — on the bench in street clothes — got into it with Klay following some trash talk between Klay and rookie Cooper Flagg. Klay defended his young teammate, but Ja responded by stepping onto the court, getting in Klay’s face, and pointing at him with that half-extended “fake tough” arm, as the guys on the show called it.

According to them, there’s a big difference between talking trash and making it physical.
Trash talk? That’s basketball.
Pointing fingers in someone’s face after the game? Now you’re taking it somewhere else.

The Real Issue

Several players agreed:
If you’re in street clothes, you shouldn’t be escalating things physically. Talk trash? Cool. Clap back? Cool. But stepping onto the court and getting in someone’s face? That’s different.

One point they kept hammering:
If you’re not actually going to fight, don’t pretend you want smoke.

And in their eyes, Ja only acted tough once teammates got between them — classic “performative tough guy” behavior.

Was Klay wrong?

Surprisingly, no one on the panel thought Klay crossed any lines.
They praised him for:

Having Cooper Flagg’s back

Keeping it verbal

Not reacting emotionally

Delivering a clean, gated-community style clapback

Klay basically said everything except “you’re a target,” but kept it just professional enough.

He also doubled down in his later comments, saying the Grizzlies “talk a lot but don’t back it up,” and that he respects the old Memphis core (Gasol & Z-Bo), not this new version.

Is Ja Morant helping or hurting himself?

Now THIS is where opinions split.

One side argued this incident was negative for Ja — another unnecessary headline tied to physical confrontation, when he’s supposed to be rebuilding his reputation. After injuries, suspensions, and a year of controversy, they believe Ja needs multiple seasons of clean behavior, not more viral clips.

The other side argued it could actually be a positive for him:

He uplifted team morale by defending his guys

He re-established his on-court presence despite not playing

He added fuel that might motivate him when he returns

But even they admitted:
If Ja really wanted smoke, he could’ve acted before security stepped in.
This wasn’t going anywhere.

So was Klay spitting or tripping?

Based on the discussion:

✔ Klay was spitting.
He talked trash the right way — all verbal, no fake tough guy energy.

✔ Ja was tripping — not for defending a teammate, but for escalating it physically while in street clothes.

✔ And BOTH sides know they aren’t actually fighting. This is entertainment, not a back-alley showdown.