Electrifying, showstopper, highlight-maker, showman—these are some of the words that perfectly describe Ja Morant. In today’s NBA, which has turned into a 3-point shooting contest, players like Ja, have kept the essence of street basketball alive. The Grizzlies guard, at his best, can give you plays of the season in a single game. That’s how Ja rolls. But there was concern about whether he’d ever reach this stage and that came straight from his father, Tee Morant.

The ever-smiling senior Morant has been on the courtside, seen chopping it up with Bronny James and Anthony Davis during the Grizzlies vs Lakers games. With his son sidelined, the father-son duo brings energy to the courtside. Taking that energy to an interview with Overtime, Tee shared unknown stories of his son’s journey to the NBA. And that’s exactly where he revealed Ja’s secret.

When asked about the secret to Ja’s excellence on the court, Tee played it down by saying it’s really not a secret. “I just kept on cursing at him about playing the video games and tell him what I mean, he keep on playing that video game thinking that’s real life. When he get on the, real court, somebody gonna bust his a**.” Ja had a little frame that made Tee fearful of his future as an NBA guard. He thought his son would end up being 5’7 or 5’8, like Muggsy Bogues.

So he worked on making young Ja faster and craftier than the others. “So I started just working on his agility and all to make sure he’s a quick guard, Muggsy Bogues style that can shoot from deep so he didn’t have to go down there amongst the trees,” Morant sr. said. “But then once he started getting tall, that’s when I started. I brought out the big tyres and made him jump on the tyres after every drill.”

And there’s your secret to all that jumping and dunking Morant does on the court. So head to a garage maybe? No, let’s not. Tee was also gifted athletically during his high school days. While he didn’t crack the surface of the league, his former running mate, Ray Allen, did just that and some more. You can include Ja Morant’s training in that too.

Tee reveals how Ray Allen was the blueprint behind Ja Morant’s success

Tee and Ray Allen played together back from their seventh-grade days. The two fostered a bond over time that stayed intact despite going in separate directions after their graduation. And yes, they graduated after winning the state championship. “Me and him played together all the way from seventh grade to our state championship year ’93 when we graduated,” Daddy Morant said in the same interview. “Ray had a different type of work ethic that I didn’t have. I was just going on raw talent and I actually, when we had Ja, that’s who I patterned how to train Ja and all that after.”

That explains Allen being one of the cornerstones of two NBA championship-winning teams (Celtics 08, Heat 12). This also sends a message to the young players about having the work ethic to succeed. Surely Ja Morant picked that trait up. Currently suffering from a Pelvic muscle injury, Morant is waiting on a week-to-week basis for his on-court return. But once that happens, expect business to pickup in the flashiest style he is known for.