Stephen A. Smith told Ja Morant on the Out the Mud podcast that the Grizzlies guard could be out of the NBA if he does not develop his perimeter shooting.
Stephen A. Smith told Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant he needs to start working on his game.
Smith made the comments this week on the "Out the Mud" podcast, hosted by former Grizzlies players Zach Randolph and Tony Allen.
“You Ja, and you don’t look like you spent a second in the gym,” Stephen A. said. “Tell me one thing about Ja Morant’s game that he has worked on? I’m not telling you he can’t play because he’s naturally gifted. But he looks like the same cat as when he first came into the league.”
Smith asked Randolph and Allen to name a single part of Morant's game that has visibly improved since he entered the league in 2019. He said Morant is naturally gifted but looks like the same player who arrived as the No. 2 pick.
Smith zeroed in on Morant's outside shooting.
“I’m looking at Ja like, yo bro, you ain’t going to work on your game? You shot 23% from 3. You are a PG,” he said. “Everything ain’t about dunking. You have to work on your mid-range. Work on your 3-point shot. Otherwise, you’re going to be out of the league. That’s just facts.”
Morant shot 23.5% from 3-point range on more than 4 attempts per game in 2025-26. He played 20 games and averaged 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 8.1 assists, dealing with a lingering elbow injury for most of the year.
Smith said dunking isn't enough for a point guard. Without a mid-range or 3-point shot, he said, Morant will be out of the league.
Smith also went back to his earlier on-air dispute with Morant. Morant had pushed back at the time over comments Smith made about Memphis, accusing the ESPN analyst of running negative narratives about the city.
“You got the hunger to come at me for my comments about Memphis,” he said. “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.”
The Grizzlies discussed Morant in trade scenarios during the 2025-26 season. No deal came together at the deadline.
Memphis finished 25-57 under head coach Tuomas Iisalo. The Grizzlies have moved on from Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. across the past two seasons, breaking up the core that reached the Western Conference Semifinals in 2022.
Memphis enters Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago with the sixth-best odds, a 9% chance at the No. 1 pick, and a 37.2% chance at a top-four selection. The lottery airs at 2 p.m. CT on ABC.
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