Ja Morant shows his growth with what he did with Jeremiah Fears after Grizzlies vs Pelicans game

Ja Morant gave Jeremiah Fears his welcome to the NBA moment

The 2025-26 NBA season marks Morant’s seventh year in the league. Over the years, Ja has found himself in a plethora of controversies.

However, the 2x NBA All-Star has now become a veteran. As a result, the talented guard gave Fears his welcome to the NBA moment at the end of their opening night clash.

During the final seconds of the game, Morant made Fears chase him to run down the clock.

It showed how Morant has improved his basketball IQ throughout his career, and the NOLA rookie has a lot to learn.

Ja Morant on Jeremiah Fears after the game

If the end-of-the-game moment between Morant and Fears had happened a few seasons earlier, the Grizzlies star may have called out the Pelicans rookie.

Instead, Morant had nothing but praise for Fears after the game, as revealed by Matt Infield.

“I just told him to continue to be aggressive. Earlier on, he was just coming in and just dribbling. I called it being a robot, and then once he started being a little more aggressive at the end.

“… I know he has a lot of talent, I watched his highlights from this past college season he had and he’s a great player,” Morant said.

In simple terms, Morant appreciated Fears’ mentality of going at him during the end of the game, but ensured he wasn’t outplayed by the rookie.