LeBron James broke the internet with his clutch double-pump reverse dunk against the Memphis Grizzlies last night to seal the game for the Lakers.

The momentum from King James’ dunk took him straight to the Grizzlies’ bench, face-to-face with Ja Morant.

As LBJ flexed in front of his opponents, G12 shoved the Lakers superstar back to the court.

A day after the viral exchange, Morant’s leaked audio from that moment further fuelled the Ja-LeBron rivalry!

JM can be seen shouting “Hell No!” during LeBron’s three-point attempts.

The clip also revealed that while LeBron backpedaled after Ja’s shove with a broad smile on his face, Morant charged to the court with a warning for the King, “Wait until I suit up!”.

Morant uttered the words while pointing at his attire as LBJ continued celebrating his game-sealing dunk with the Lakers squad.

However, last night wasn’t the first time LeBron and Morant have butted heads.

Their rivalry has been brewing since they went head-to-head in the first round of the playoffs in 2023.

The series caught everyone’s attention after Grizzlies then-guard Dillon Brooks disrespected LeBron James by calling him “old” following their Game 2 win.

His words backfired as the Lakers decimated Memphis and eliminated them in 6 games.

Morant was out for one of those games because of a hand injury he suffered in Game 1. Possibly, he still has last year’s humiliation in mind, and yesterday’s exchange with LeBron brought out all that pent-up frustration.

When will Ja Morant return?

The leaked audio from Ja Morant and LeBron James’ exchange has left the NBA World wishing for the Grizzlies superstar’s early return from injury.

But when is he likely to play again? He made his highly-anticipated return in December after missing the first 25 games of the season because of suspension.

He looked in elite form, averaging 25.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.6 rebounds, and many believed he would end the Grizzlies’ misery.

But all hopes were ruined when Morant suffered a labral tear in his shoulder after playing just 9 games.

Morant had to undergo a season-ending surgery to repair his injured shoulder.

The Grizzlies later reported that Ja Morant is expected to fully recover from the injury ahead of the 2024-25 season.

G12 reposted the same news and wrote, “What you went thru has a purpose. So does your life. Focus on your life’s purpose and you will get thru this trying time”.

Quite the dose of inspiration from the NBA star.

So, fans can expect to see the 2-time All-Star back on the court in the first game of next season.

That means Morant will get a chance to prove his words against LeBron James very soon.

LBJ has a 6-4 record against Morant and currently has the upper hand. In turn, many expect the Grizzlies to have a much better next season with the return of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Marcus Smart.

Morant would hope to get fully healthy fast and even that score up as soon as possible.