Ja Morant Says He Would've 'Cooked' Michael Jordan, Also Calls Out Lionel Messi

Published|Updated

Ja Morant is an extremely confident guy, and he has every right to be.

The Memphis Grizzlies star was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2020 and was both an All-Star and the NBA's Most Improved Player last season. Morant also helped lead the Grizzlies to the second-best record in the league last season officially sending a message to the rest of the league that both himself and Memphis, are here.

It's also pretty tough not to be confident when you sign a five-year extension worth up to $231 million as a 22-year-old, which Morant did just last week.

So, when Michael Jordan's name came up in a recent interview it shouldn't be all that surprising to hear Morant say he would've "cooked" him.

"I would've cooked him too," Morant said after Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks pointed out he was being quiet about MJ. "Nobody got more confidence than 12."

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1546218707675779072?s=20&t=2vmesYrLuyFJLmOEf3O1XQ

After Rooks pointed out that that's what Morant was supposed to say, he agreed, saying "I'm never going to say anyone is going to beat me in 1-on-1 or anything." Morant as far as to say he wants to challenge Lionel Messi to soccer, where he would be the goalie and Messi would have to try and score on him.

Morant going up against Jordan 1-on-1 is a fun matchup to think about. While Morant gives up three inches to Jordan, the fact that he has pogo sticks as legs more than makes up for the height disadvantage.

It's tough not to love Morant. Even when he 'calls out' Jordan in an interview, he's doing it with a smile on his face, only being half-serious.

Tags
Written by

Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.