The NBA is investigating Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant’s gun-like motion toward the Golden State Warriors bench during their game Tuesday night, a league source confirmed.
Morant could be seen throughout Tuesday’s game making a gun gesture in apparent celebration after making his five 3-pointers, pointed either toward the nearest defender or his father, Tee Morant, on the sideline.
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Late in the game, as the Warriors were wrapping up a 134-125 win, Buddy Hield appeared to make Morant’s gesture back toward him in a taunting fashion as the teams split for a timeout. Morant spotted it and made the gesture back toward the Warriors bench as the sides got in a verbal back-and-forth. Morant eventually broke for his huddle, calling Hield a “dumbass” as he turned away, and officials issued Morant and Hield technical fouls. The NBA is also investigating the actions of Hield.
Ja Morant appeared to make a gun gesture at the Warriors’ bench late in the game 🤨 pic.twitter.com/fTvFA0wpit
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 2, 2025
Morant did not address the gesture postgame Tuesday. On Wednesday, he appeared to respond on X, posting, “ja this .. ja that ..” with a crying-laughing emoji.
Morant has made similar gestures in other games as a 3-point celebration, and it’s not unique to the Grizzlies star. Players frequently make shooting motions after hitting big shots. But the optics surrounding Morant are different because of his past.
In March 2023, the NBA suspended Morant for eight games after he was seen brandishing a gun on Instagram Live while at a strip club in Glendale, Colo. A month prior, the NBA had investigated an incident in which Indiana Pacers players and staff members claimed Morant’s acquaintances aimed red laser pointers — which they feared came from a gun — in their direction after a game. No discipline resulted from that incident.
Two months later, Morant was seen holding a handgun while riding in the car of his longtime friend, Davonte Pack, on Instagram Live. The league suspended him for 25 games.
The NBA does not have a rule against specific gestures, though taunting is considered unsportsmanlike and can result in a technical foul at a referee’s discretion. The NBA has fined players for making gun-related gestures in the past, however. In 2017, then-Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson was fined $35,000 for making a gesture toward a fan that appeared to mimic pulling a trigger. And Gerald Green, then with the Miami Heat, was docked $25,000 for making a similar gesture in 2015.
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Meanwhile, the NFL and NCAA cracked down on “finger gun” gestures this past football season. Multiple NFL players drew penalties and fines for the gesture in the fall, and in college football, the gesture results in an automatic unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Memphis, which fired head coach Taylor Jenkins on Friday and elevated assistant coach Tuomos Iisalo to the position, has now lost seven of its last eight games (the Grizzlies are 0-3 under Iisalo) to fall to sixth in the West. The Warriors, now 19-4 in games in which Jimmy Butler has played since landing him at the trade deadline, are now in fifth place.
The Grizzlies face the Heat in Miami on Thursday.
(Photo: Brandon Dill / The Associated Press)
