Earlier this week, the NBA launched an investigation into Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant for a finger gun gesture he made during a game on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors.
Morant, who has a history of discipline for issues relating to guns, was ultimately issued a warning by the league, which viewed the gesture as a celebration that was “not intended to be violent in nature,” but was “inappropriate,” according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
News of the NBA’s warning to Morant surfaced around 11:20 a.m. ET on Thursday. Yet roughly nine hours later, as Morant’s Grizzlies faced the Miami Heat, he appeared to make the same gesture again after hitting a 3-pointer.
As if that wasn’t enough drama for the night, Morant later hit a buzzer-beating fadeaway jumper to give Memphis a critical 110-108 win over Miami.
While the finger gun motion is not exactly new in the NBA, Morant is a somewhat unique case given his history. He has been suspended by the NBA for gun-related incidents multiple times, including an Instagram Live video in which he showed a gun at a Colorado night club and another Instagram Live video in which he flashed one in a car. There was also an alleged incident in which someone in Morant’s SUV flashed a red laser pointer at an Indiana Pacers team bus, but the NBA could not determine if anyone was actually threatened with a weapon.
In Tuesday’s game, the 25-year-old Morant did the finger gun gesture in the direction of the Warriors bench as he walked toward his own bench after a timeout was called in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Warriors guard Buddy Hield made a similar gesture shortly before the timeout. Hield was also given a warning by the NBA, according to ESPN, as were both teams involved.
When issuing discipline, the NBA does consider a player’s history. That likely played a major role in Morant’s first gun suspension lasting eight games, but his second extending for 25. As recently as this week, that precedent was enforced. Several players were suspended following a fight between the Pistons and Timberwolves on Sunday, but Isaiah Stewart got a two-game suspension in part because of “his repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has broad powers when it comes to discipline. If he believes that Morant’s gesture goes against the best interests of the league, he is free to fine or suspend a player. Earlier Thursday, the NBA decided that the gesture itself was not enough to warrant discipline. But disregarding a warning from the league? That could be an entirely different matter.
The Grizzlies entered Thursday’s action in a three-way tie for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers. Every win is crucial at this stage of the season, and losing Morant for a single game could be devastating. The league did not discipline Morant after Tuesday’s finger gun gesture, and now the Grizzlies will have to hope that they don’t after this one.
