(Video) Ja Morant’s gesture towards Kevin Durant after he completed 30,000 career points goes viral

Ja Morant showed off his respect for Kevin Durant with a heartfelt gesture after KD's massive 30,000-point milestone on Wednesday.

(Video) Ja Morant’s gesture towards Kevin Durant after he completed 30,000 career points goes viral

Ja Morant respects Kevin Durant

The Memphis Grizzlies soundly defeated the Phoenix Suns 119-112 on Tuesday, but the night belonged to Kevin Durant. The Suns’ star joined rare ‘Air’ after he scored a bucket to join the 30,000 career points club in the NBA. This may as well be termed the mile-high club of the league. Following the game, Grizzlies star Ja Morant paid tribute to the historic milestone.

Morant broke tradition in the league by handing the game ball to the losing team. In the NBA, game balls are generally handed out to the best player on the winning teams, barring a few exceptions. On Tuesday, however, the Grizzlies star took it upon himself to deliver the game ball to Kevin Durant to honor the history that Durant had created. After the game, Ja Morant spoke about his gesture towards Durant.

He is one of the greats. I honored him with the ball, he said he don’t care much about it. But everybody don’t get 30,000 in this league. So hats off to him and I hope he keep going, we wanna see him out here.

Ja Morant said after the game
YouTube video

With Durant securing his 26th point with a free throw in the 3rd quarter, he became just the eighth player in NBA history to record 30k career points. KD joined an illustrious list of stars that includes LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain.

FS Video

The two-time champion has long been one of Morant’s favorite hoopers in the league, especially given KD’s reputation as ‘your favorite hooper’s favorite hooper.’ It was only right that Morant was the one to honor Durant on one of the biggest nights of his star-studded career.

Kevin Durant reveals thoughts on Ja Morant’s heartfelt tribute

Kevin Durant has always been one of the blunt stars in the NBA when talking about his thoughts. Given his major career achievement, one would expect KD to be emotional when he was handed the game ball by Ja Morant. But, as Morant revealed in his comments, Durant was surprised to be handed the memento. The gesture itself, by Morant, however, did not go unnoticed by KD.

The thing in this game is to gain respect from the hoopers that play. For Ja to show me that respect, it means a lot to me. He’s a young player that I admired since he was in college, and I can see a few of these young players in the league reaching that milestone as well.

Kevin Durant said in his post-game presser
YouTube video

Durant’s appreciation for the new generation of talent in the NBA has always been a key part of his growth into one of the most respected veteran superstars in the NBA. He may talk smack on the court at any given opportunity, but few appreciate the game and its stars like Durant does. His appreciation for Ja Morant only goes to prove just how authentic he is with his basketball fandom.