"He is like my big brother" - Yuki Kawamura reveals Ja Morant's ‘bad slang’ lessons while calling out Scotty Pippen Jr’s locker room antics

Ja Morant and rookie Yuki Kawamura appear to have a relationship beyond being teammates. The two have been documented as having a close friendship, and it seems that Morant has also served as a teacher for his Japanese teammate.

In an interview with CNN's international correspondent Hanako Montgomery, Kawamura shared what he's learning from Ja Morant. While the Memphis Grizzlies All-Star has taken the time to impart some basketball knowledge to Kawamura, the lessons don't stop there.

Per Kawamura, Morant has also taken the time to teach him English slang.

"Ja Morant is like a big brother," Kawamura shared with Montgomery. "He teaches me basketball skills and English. Sometimes he teaches me bad slang."

This prompted Montgomery to ask what kind of English Morant has taught Kawamura recently.

"I'm not sure if you can use this," Kawamura replied. "But things like 'type s***.'

Then, Kawamura shared Ja Morant's snacking habits with their other teammate, Scotty Pippen Jr.

"Ja really likes Poifull jelly beans so he eats Poifull a lot," Kawamura shared. "But Scotty Pippen Jr. really loves the chocolate Kinoko-no-yama. Our lockers are right next to each other so he steals them from my locker a lot. In America I've got teammates and friends who are really important to me and life with them is simply amazing."

Yuki Kawamura signed an Exhibit-10 contract with the Memphis Grizzlies on Sept. 2024, just ahead of training camps. Then, on Oct. 19, after the preseason games, Memphis signed him to a two-way contract.

This season, he has featured for the Memphis Hustle (the Grizzlies's G-League affiliate) and the Memphis NBA team. His stats read 12.4 points, 8.6 assists and 1.3 steals under 31.9 average minutes in 18 G-League games for the Hustle, whereas he had 1.2 ppg and 0.7 apg in 20 games for the Grizzlies.

His best game so far on the Memphis Grizzlies main roster was on Dec. 29 against the OKC Thunder. Yuki Kawamura came off the bench to log 11 minutes of action in that game. In those 11 minutes, he logged 10 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished three assists.

---

Ja Morant opened up about the bond that he and Yuki Kawamura have formed

The lighter side of Ja Morant and Yuki Kawamura's friendship has been documented, giving fans glimpses of what things are like in the Memphis Grizzlies locker room.

Morant once spoke about their friendship to Grizzlies beat writer Damichael Cole of "The Commercial Appeal." In the article, Morant had this to say about Kawamura.

"It's Yuki," Morant said. "It's his world and we're just living in it."

Morant was also quoted talking about what Kawamura brings to the team beyond his on-court talent.

"He just brings a light and joy to the team," Morant shared. "Just making sure he’s as comfortable as possible. Just making sure that he’s being him, and he ain’t shying away from it at all."

Yuki Kawamura has become a fan favorite among the Grizzlies' supporters, and the things he's learned from Ja Morant have likely helped in this regard. On one occasion, Kawamura even did 'The Griddy' on the court, much to the delight of the fans, and Morant came in and joined him.

The friendship between Yuki Kawamura and Ja Morant has been entertaining and indicates the brotherhood formed through basketball.