Why Would Brooklyn, New York Want a Statue of Ja Morant?

Unless a statue is perfect down to the very last detail, the internet is going to treat it like the artist has issued a personal attack on his subject. They act like it's the most repulsive statue in the world, and that it doesn't resemble it's real life counterpart in the slightest. But as far as random statues of athletes that pop up out of nowhere deep in the bowels of Brooklyn go, this Ja Morant statue isn't that bad. His arms are a bit short. They wouldn't have had to make him clench his fists so tightly. It sort of makes him look like a toddler. His torso is a bit square. He has a bit of a Spongebob look to him. Good legs though.  And where's the gun, folks? But the face is unmistakably Ja Morant. A sad and pensive Ja Morant, but it's a Ja Morant nonetheless.

But of all places, why the hell does Brooklyn have a Ja Morant statue? I'm trying to find any connections Ja Morant might have to Brooklyn. He was born and went to high school in South Carolina. He went to college at Murray State in Kentucky. He plays in the NBA for the Memphis Grizzlies. It does appear that he dated a girl named Brooklyn Nikole for a short period of time, but she's from Atlanta.

He did however attend the NYvsNY basketball game (pres. by Nike) at Gersh Park in Brooklyn yesterday.

So we can assume that Ja Morant was there as an obligation to Nike. And I'm assuming Nike is responsible for the statue, considering they built a similar Ja Morant (except frozen in ice) statue at a different Nike event last year.

It also seems like they should have unveiled the statue while Ja Morant was there. That must have been the plan right? There are no pictures of him with this most recent statue, which implies he left before the unveiling. So was the statue just late getting there? And what happens now? Gersh Park is stuck with this average statue of a very talented but problematic basketball player with zero ties to their park or community whatsoever. 

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"Oh cool that's Ja Morant. Did he grow up here or something?"

"Nope, just showed up here for a few hours in the summer of 2024."

Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe Ja Morant donated a bunch of money to the park. Maybe he has a secret family in Brooklyn. I'm just very confused as to why this exists. I have a feeling this statue is going to end up in someone's basement within a year. Unless for decades to come this Ja Morant statue (which to even call it a statue is kind of a stretch, it looks more like a wax figure) will rot away in the corner of the park as a reminder of that one time an NBA player showed up to watch an amateur basketball tournament. What a memory.