NBA Gives Ja Morant 25-game Suspension With No-Pay For Flaunting Gun

The NBA has slammed a 25-game, no-pay suspension on Memphis Grizzlies’ guard player Ja Morant for “conduct detrimental to the NBA.”

Before this lengthy ban, the 23-year-old Morant was “suspended from all team activities” in May 2023 after he made an appearance with a gun in a social media video in March. He was also benched for eight games following the incident.

The video which landed Ja Morant in suspension was shot in a nightclub in Colorado. In the video, the All-Star guard, who was chosen in the second round of the 2019 draft, was seen pointing a gun inside the club. Unfortunately for him, the video was uploaded on social media.

After the video had gone viral, Morant issued a statement to express regret and vowed to “get help” as a result of the incident.

However, it seems the basketball player failed to “get help” as he repeated the offense. But this time around, he was featured in a live broadcast on Instagram in which he posed with a gun alongside a bunch of friends.

As usual, he immediately issued a statement afterward to say that he is “committed to continuing to work on” himself.

He added, “I take full responsibility for my actions last night.

“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me.

“This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions.”

But that was not enough to stop the NBA from taking action against him this time around since he has committed a similar offense twice.

Ja Morant’s punishment is that he will have to be sidelined for 25 games out of the 82 regular-season games in the forthcoming 2023–2024 NBA season, which begins in October.

Before Ja Morant can return from the no-pay suspension, Morant must complete an NBA program that “directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior”, according to a statement from the American basketball body.