Stephen A. Smith Replies to Ja Morant’s Tweet With Segment on Memphis Gun Violence
Ja Morant had called out Stephen A. Smith for speculating about the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday morning after Game 5 of the Finals.

Stephen A Smith, Ja Morant (FS Image)
Ja Morant and Stephen A. Smith recently began a war of words that stemmed from the fanfare around the Desmond Bane trade.
Desmond Bane was acquired by the Orlando Magic, who sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and four unprotected first-round picks to Memphis in the trade. Bane was the best specialist shooter and scorer on the roster over the past three seasons, blossoming into a productive swingman. Some have viewed the Grizzlies’ decision to trade him as a move towards trading their core away for a tank-and-rebuild.
Smith pondered the same during a previous segment of First Take on the day following Game 5 of the Finals. He pointed out how Ja Morant has had injury troubles, listing eight different types of bugs Morant sat out during 2024-25 for. He also pondered about the conversations between the Grizzlies front office and Morant’s camp regarding his upcoming max extension.
Morant did not take kindly to the spirit of the First Take segment by Smith. According to the 25-year-old, Smith has no sources within the Grizzlies and is shooting in the dark. He put a couple of tweets out, taking him to task.
instead of focusing on the performances we seen from jdub/shai , tj/siakam, how this series is going . we say sumn negative about a city/team on a national level.
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) June 17, 2025
This move from Morant put Smith on the defensive. And as he is wont to do in these situations, the ESPN talking head has turned this into another exhibition of how out of touch he is with NBA fans’ demands. He first tweeted about wanting to run a segment on the ‘troubles’ of Memphis as a city.
So this is what we’re doing now @JaMorant? I recall talking about the Finals. But the @memgrizz made news because of Bane getting traded. AND, your possible extension coming up. Would you prefer I go into detail about WTH has been going on in Memphis? Why players have stated… https://t.co/kSa3v4d7Sz
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 17, 2025
Smith proceeded to run a full segment about what he thinks are the reasons for NBA superstars not wanting to be traded to Memphis. In this, he used their crime and poverty statistics during a rant that lasted for over three minutes. Some of the most jarring things he said were:
It’s still recognized as one of the worst cities in America. To the point where the FBI has called it the ‘Murder Capital’ of this country per capita. That’s on the record, saying that…Here’s the big thing – Molly, Doggy, Windy – 40% of the children in Memphis live in poverty. And when we’re talking about all of those things and we’re talking about the troubles that exist, these are the kind of things that contribute to the city being deemed by some within the NBA community as unattractive.
“It’s still recognized as one of the worst cities in America. To the point where the head of the FBI has called it 'the murder capital of this country' per capita. That's on the record."
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 18, 2025
– Stephen A. Smith on Memphis
(h/t @awfulannouncing )
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Stephen A. Smith was right about Ja Morant and the Grizzlies, but his rant about Memphis was uncalled for
The city of Memphis is important for black culture as one of the biggest urban centers in the South. The Tennessee city was among the pinnacles of hip-hop culture during the late 1980s and has a long tradition of blues, soul and country music from Black Americans.
Given its importance in the zeitgeist, many black fans are protective of the place. Since the franchise moved from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001, the city has been fiercely proud of its basketball team. The relationship between the Grit n Grind Grizzlies and the city will be a defining element of its identity for a long time. Every NBA star to have played here, including Pau and Marc Gasol, Morant and others, has embraced the city.
The decision to go on an ill-advised rant about the socioeconomic conditions of the city is typical. Smith loves the limelight, is intensely sensitive when called out for his takes and will grandstand about anything. It’s the reason why he’s fallen so far in the opinion of many sports fans in the last decade. While he is eloquent and often entertaining, he is too full of himself and centers himself in discussions too much.
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