Stephen A. Smith Absolutely Unloads on Ja Morant With Brutal Rant About His NBA Future

Now we all know that Ja Morant’s 2025-26 season has been more grind than glow. The Memphis Grizzlies guard hasn’t looked like the same unstoppable force who once took over highlights nightly. Injuries have slowed him down, and the production has dipped: 19.5 points and 8.1 assists across just 20 games, with a rough 23.5% clip from three.

The bigger issue, however, isn’t just numbers, but the trend. Morant’s still electric in bursts, but the half-court game hasn’t evolved the way people expected since he entered the league in 2019. The jumper remains shaky, the spacing is still a problem, and Memphis as a whole slid into a 25-win season after major roster shakeups and constant injury setbacks.

Stephen A. Smith, though, stepped during an appearance on the “Out the Mud” podcast with Zach Randolph and Tony Allen. He called out the gap between Morant’s talent and his development, saying the league doesn’t wait forever for potential to turn into polish.

“Yo bro, you ain’t going to work on your game? You shot 23% from 3. You a PG. Everything ain’t about dunking. You have to work on your mid range. Work on your 3PT shot. Otherwise, you gonna be out the league! That’s just facts! You got the hunger to come at me for my comments about Memphis. I wouldn’t have to worry about it if you were the player you were supposed to be! When they put him on the trade block, there were no takers.”