8 hours ago
14
Ja Morant has been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies for one game after hitting out at the team's coaching staff following their defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers.
After they were beaten 117-117 by the Lakers in the NBA Cup, Morant was asked by a reporter in the locker room what went wrong for the Grizzlies on Friday night.
'Go ask the coaching staff,' the controversial guard fumed. 'Go ask them. They had a whole spiel in here, so...'
Another media member then asked what Tuomas Iisalo's men could have done differently to avoid the shortcoming against Los Angeles.
'According to them, probably don't play me,' Morant claimed. 'That's basically what the message was after.'
In the wake of his rant, the Grizzlies have handed him a one-game suspension for 'conduct detrimental to the team', it was announced on Saturday.
Ja Morant has been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies for hitting out at their coaching staff
Ja Morant when asked questions from the media:
“Go ask the coaching staff.”
And then asked what could have been done differently, other than asking the coaching staff:
“According to them, probably don’t play me.”
(🎥 @50NuancesDeNBA)
Morant has often landed himself in hot water off the court since being selected by Memphis with the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Back in March 2023, he infamously flashed a gun during an Instagram Live stream in Shotgun Willie's, a strip club in Glendale, Colorado, following a loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The move sparked severe backlash with the NBA handing down an eight-game suspension to Morant, who checked himself into a private counseling facility in Colorado.
But eight games seemingly weren't enough to drive the message home, as 10 weeks later the ex-Murray State player was caught in yet another gun-flashing incident.
This time, having not learnt his lesson, Morant was captured waving a firearm in a car on friend Davonte Pack's Instagram Live.
Once again he faced blowback, this time bigger than ever. It was the second incident of this nature in three months and the league took its time deliberating its punishment, before Adam Silver landed on a 25-game suspension.
The NBA commissioner branded Morant's conduct 'alarming and disconcerting' and 'reckless and irresponsible,' noting that the star is a role model for many children.
Morant has landed himself in hot water on several occasions in Memphis, including when he received a 25-game suspension for flashing a gun on an Instagram Live stream in 2023
The ban forced him to miss a large chunk of the 2023-24 season before he finally made his return on December 19, 2023.
Yet just a week later, he was accused of making a gun-related celebration after performing a dunk during an overtime win.
Morant celebrated by stretching out both his arms and appearing to pull a trigger before moving his hands towards his head - as if holding something on his shoulder - which sparked outrage on social media with users claiming he was mimicking flashing a gun.
He also did the same during a loss against the Golden State Warriors back in April, which led to further calls for the NBA to suspend him. However, he was not punished by the league and instead received a warning.
