MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It started as a Christmas gift—Maddox, Wesley, Jake and their mothers came to Memphis from Nashville for a mother-son day out to see Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors take on the Memphis Grizzlies.
Little did the three friends know, they were about to become the coolest kids in class.
“They’re not going to believe us at school, oh my goodness, how are we going to tell them it really happened,” Heather Hehn said.
“What were they saying?” we asked.
“Like wow, you’re on TV, no fair,” Maddox Hehn said.
“Everybody was surrounding me, I was like, 'I’m really embarrassed,' to be honest,” Wesley Vanbenschoten said.
By the time Maddox and Wesley made it back to school their faces were all over the sports networks and social media (thanks to Ja Morant).
For as long as the 8-year-olds could remember, they’ve been Steph Curry fans. They wore his jersey to the game.
Still—after a huge AND1 play from Morant—Maddox and Wesley held their hand out for a high five from the player.
Morant, however, stared them down and said…
“We in Memphis!”
After the game, Ja said the jerseys should have had his name on them, not Curry’s.
Maddox and Wesley were already headed back to Nashville, when they got a call inviting them to the next Golden State and Memphis Grizzlies match-up in early March.
That night, they met Ja in person, where he signed jerseys—changing their loyalty forever.
“Is Steph Curry your favorite player?” we asked.
“Not anymore,” Maddox said.
Now, with the grizzlies fighting to eliminate the Warriors to make it to the Western Conference Finals, Wesley and Maddox have switched sides.
“I feel pretty good, I think they’ll win," Wesley said. "I asked my mom if they win tonight if we can go to the next game against the grizzlies vs. warriors, and she keeps saying no but I really want to.”
Although Ja Morant ignored them initially, as athletes themselves, they all said they understood his competitive spirit.
“I think that’s an incredible example to set, like 'hey, I might’ve mouthed off a little bit to a bunch of kids but, I’m going to own it and I’m going to let people know that I’m here,'" Wesley's mom Shana Vanbenschoten said. "It’s just really unique and special.”
A moment they’ll never forget.