The Memphis Grizzlies are the NBA’s hottest team, winners of 10 straight including a win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night at the FedEx Forum.
Ja Morant once again played the starring role in the win, scoring 29 points to go along with eight assists and five rebounds, and he punctuated the win with an and-1 layup to put the game on ice.
CALL 12
@JaMorant | #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/OV4zywS9jD
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 12, 2022
After the game, Morant was asked about how he left the little man in the Steph Curry jersey hanging for a hi-five, and he said it was “disrespectful” of the kid to be wearing a Warriors jersey in Memphis, but that he’d be happy to get him one of his jersey for the next time he comes to the game. Those comments went viral, and the Grizzlies decided to take advantage of the publicity on a story a lot of teams would’ve had some trepidation about embracing, and came up with an incredible campaign around it.
On Thursday, the Grizzlies will host a jersey trade-in event at the arena at 5 p.m., in which kids 12 and under can come (with a parent) and trade-in their jersey from another team for a Ja Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr. replica, plus a pair of tickets to see Memphis host the Timberwolves later that night — with 250 jerseys up for grabs.
New Year, New Jerseys
Tomorrow at 5pm, kids 12 and under can exchange any old opposing player NBA jersey for a new Ja Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr. replica jersey + two tickets to the game.
Full Details: https://t.co/BuEbOexfnh pic.twitter.com/uZvdOYMldb
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 13, 2022
It’s a great promotion and some savvy marketing from the Grizzlies to do such a quick turnaround from Morant’s comments to execution of a special event — which will also help move some tickets and get more fans in the building for a midweek game against an opponent that isn’t a huge draw.