The NBA is investigating Ja Morant after he mimed shooting a gun towards the opposing team’s bench in his Grizzlies’ 134-125 loss to the Warriors on Tuesday night. Morant has been suspended twice before for gun-related offenses: the first time for eight games for brandishing a gun on an Instagram Live video, and the second for 25 games for again appearing on video with a gun.
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This is the last thing the Grizzlies need, as they’ve lost four in a row to drop to eighth in the West with just six games to go. Head coach Taylor Jenkins was recently fired in a shocking move that seems to have been done because Morant and his teammates were tuning him out, according to reports. If Morant is suspended again, it could effectively kill Memphis’ season.
Even if the NBA doesn’t impose any discipline on Morant, this latest incident is just another indication that he doesn’t get it. Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson spoke about it on last night’s episode of Nightcap, and while Johnson excused the action due to Buddy Hield doing it towards Morant first, Shannon said that the Grizzlies star needs to exercise better judgment.
“Given Ja’s history, you’d think he would be smarter than that,” Sharpe said. “First of all, that’s Buddy Hield, come on now. I mean, come on. Your name’s Buddy. For real though, if Steph [Curry] do it, ‘Oh, I gotta get you back Steph, ’cause you Steph Curry.'”
Sharpe also pointed out that Morant has missed a lot of time due to injury the last few years, and the Grizzlies need him out there if they hope to contend.
Most of the top contenders are led by veterans that don’t do dumb things. The Lakers have LeBron James and Luka Doncic. The Nuggets have Nikola Jokic. The Warriors have Curry. While it is true that Buddy Hield did the celebration to Morant first, the lack of leadership on roster and past situations mean the backlash will always be disproportionate.
Ja Morant appeared to make gun gestures towards the Golden State bench after the Grizzlies’ loss to the Warriors
(via @NBCSWarriors)
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 2, 2025
“Ja just gotta be smarter,” Sharpe said, and he’s right. Morant has already cost himself a ton of money with his actions, with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst once estimating it to be north of $50 million due to fines from the suspensions, lost future pay from missing All-NBA teams, and removal from consideration for sponsorship opportunities off the court.
This could be a make-or-break moment for Morant and the Grizzlies, suspension or not. He has all the talent in the world, but the Grizzlies need him to be more. If he can be the reliable leader that a team needs, they can truly compete for a title. If Memphis continues to flame out, don’t be shocked if Morant ends up being traded somewhere else so the franchise can reset.
