No love lost between the Lakers and Grizzlies heading into the matchup

There’s no love lost between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, who meet for the second time this season on Wednesday (10:00 p.m. ET ESPN).

The two teams memorably matched up in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs, with the Lakers winning in six games. The series was headlined by the interactions between LeBron James and then-Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks. The bad blood between the Western Conference foes started earlier than that, though.

James and Desmond Bane engaged in trash talk during a game in January 2022, including James yelling at the Memphis guard, “This is your last mother— time. This is the last time you respect me.”

It created a viral moment, but over two years later, any potential bad story seemed to be in the rearview mirror. At least that’s how it looked until last week.

Memphis defeated Los Angeles 131-114 at home and the beef seeped down a bit. Here’s a look back at the bad blood between the two sides from the game on November 6.

Yes and LeBron is exchanging gestures

Yes Morant is often in the middle of any dustup with the Lakers. Playing his first game against the team since last January, he was prepared to make a splash.

After scoring against Gabe Vincent near the end of the first half, Morant hit on the “too little” celebration. One possession later, James responded with his own version of the celebration after scoring over Morant.

The Grizzlies star remembered the moment and trolled James at X with a GIF that ended with someone flashing an “L.”

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Bane finds a way to beat James

Bane didn’t use the oblique injury that kept him out of the game as an excuse not to throw a shot at James.

Former Lakers guard Scotty Pippen Jr. played a key role in Memphis’ victory with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. He also blocked James late in the fourth quarter.

While being interviewed after the game by the Grizzlies broadcast, Bane jumped in and referenced Pippen’s defensive play in a petty way.

“See how he grabbed that ball from the old man over there? From the old man over there?” Bane said emphasizing the “old man”.

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Yeah keep it honest after the game

When asked what it was about this Lakers team that got Morant going, he simply said, “I don’t like them.” He went on to explain his reasoning, referencing the 2023 series and a game late last season.

“They knocked me out of the playoffs,” Morant said. “And then last year we had a game and they came here and put it on our home floor when I was in street clothes. I wasn’t tonight.”

The two-time All-Star pointed to a 123-120 win by the Lakers in the penultimate game of the regular season. After a late steal, James pulled off a reverse dunk and landed right in front of Morant. The two briefly got engaged before James chuckled on his way back to the Lakers bench.

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James rejects all bad blood

The back and forth between Morant and James was nothing more than what the essence of basketball is, according to the Lakers star.

He pointed to the “too small” interactions as “two guys from the inner city who love to compete.”

“We all grew up playing on the blacktop, playing outside and competing at a high level when there were no cameras around, it was just a bunch of s— talking around and playing the game,” he said.

With Morant out against the Lakers this week with an injury, it’s unclear how he will contribute to the next chapter of this growing rivalry between Western Conference opponents.