Fans and other players have been provoking Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“And now he has fans, other players, people in the audience, they’re provoking this too in a lot of ways,” Charania said. “That’s another thing I’ve heard in the last 24 hours.”
Morant was fined $75,000 by the NBA on Friday for finger gun gestures.
The NBA reportedly issued a warning to Morant about the issue, but he then still used the motion in the Grizzlies’ win over the Miami Heat on Thursday.
Morant also appeared to do the motion during Memphis’ game against the Golden State Warriors earlier in the week.
The NBA may be cracking down on Morant since it has already disciplined him for gun-related actions before. Morant was suspended for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 NBA season for conduct detrimental to the league after he showed a firearm during an Instagram livestream back in May of 2023.
Hopefully for the Grizzlies, Morant can put the gestures behind him and focus on the team’s chase for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Memphis is currently the No. 6 seed in the West, but it has lost seven of its last 10 games. The Grizzlies don’t have much room for error either, as they are just 0.5 games up on the Los Angeles Clippers in the standings (Los Angeles currently holds the No. 8 seed) and have the same record as the No. 7-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Grizzlies could still make a push for a higher seed if they close the season strong, as they are just two games back in the standings of the No. 3-seeded Denver Nuggets.
Morant has appeared in just 47 games for the Grizzlies this season, but they have an impressive record when he’s been in the lineup. Memphis is 29-18 when Morant plays, but it is just 16-14 when he is out of the lineup.
The former No. 2 overall pick is averaging 22.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game this season while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Morant and the Grizzlies will be back in action on Saturday, April 5 against the Detroit Pistons.
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