Getty Image / Justin Ford
Ja Morant gave 11-year-old fan Ellie Hughes the experience of a lifetime after her autographed ball was stolen.
Her prized basketball was stolen earlier this week. On Monday night, she briefly placed the ball down to get Ja Morant’s attention when someone stole it and ran off.
Ellie was devastated. She goes to every single Memphis Grizzlies home game with her grandfather and has been going to every game since she was 5 years old. The young fan had been collecting autographs on her basketball over the past 6 years until it was stolen.
You can't beat moments like this 💙@JaMorant | #BigMemphis pic.twitter.com/emDNe6fwME
— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) January 12, 2023
When Ja Morant heard about what happened he gave the 11-year-old fan the experience of a lifetime. He gifted Ellie his sneakers, jersey, and spent time talking with her and taking pictures.
The Memphis Grizzlies and Ja Morant also gifted 11-year-old Ellie a huge night. The Grizz beat the San Antonio Spurs 135-129 on Wednesday.
Ja Morant went off. He had a team-high 38 points in 32 minutes.
Grizzlies fans loved the classy move from Ja:
Ja is as good as Santa, The Easter Bunny, and the Tooth-fairy combined. He's always causing smiles on kids faces. I love this man as a person and a player!
— Ｄｅｖｏｈｅａｄ (@devohead) January 12, 2023
I LOVE THIS.
— David Krepps (@dnk900) January 12, 2023
It is and it was indeed really sweet:
Is this the girl that had her grizzlies signed basketball stolen? Because this is really sweet if so
— ubaid (@ayzubaid) January 12, 2023
I knew The Grizzlies and Ja would pull through!
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) January 12, 2023
Hopefully, whoever stole her prized autographed basketball will return it. Nobody is holding their breath. But her story has been shared far and wide. It was very meaningful to her. Let’s find that ball and get it back to the rightful owner.