Ja Morant was recently fined by the league $75,000 for using a finger-gun taunt during games. The NBA previously warned the Memphis Grizzlies star not to use the celebration, but instead of conforming, Ja did it twice the next game and ended up paying the penalty.
But it seems Ja still hasn’t learned his lesson.
During the Grizzlies’ 124-100 win over the Charlotte Hornets, he performed a “grenade celebration” after hitting a 3-pointer. The star point guard did it again in a loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves, prompting a reaction from former NBA player Patrick Beverley.
“You know these folk are on you,” Beverley said while speaking to Shannon Sharpe. “You hot right now. You just got out. Man, stay off that corner. Them folks, they looking for you. Calm down, tread lightly. Just do that for about six months, them folks give you anything you want, you can keep it moving. Oh not him.”
Ja is playing with fire
Many members of the NBA media, including former players, think Ja is immature for continuing to use celebrations that connote violence. When reporters asked him about it, the 25-year-old said it would be his new celebration until somebody has a problem with it, and if that happens, he’ll find another one.
Given Morant’s history of gun-waving incidents — he was suspended for eight games without pay in March 2023 and then for 25 games without pay in June 2023 — the league is treating the Grizzlies star differently from everybody else. And understandably so. That’s why Pat Bev advised him to stop with the antics. Otherwise, his reputation might be tarnished forever.
“They did it to Allen Iverson,” added Beverley. “You talking about a trendsetter. You talking about somebody who literally changed the game. They got A.I. right out of there. Not because of no guns, A.I. wasn’t even doing that. They got him out of that because of ‘I practice, do you practice?’ They made a thing, a big thing, and got him out of there, so that’s my fear in everything.”
Allen Iverson was the most culturally influential NBA superstar of all time. But despite his impact, a simple and misunderstood rant became his mortal sin, ruining his reputation forever. Looking back, A.I. himself regretted it long after he retired.
“Like you had no idea what I was going through in my life,” said the legendary guard in an interview with Rachel Nichols. “And I wish I could take it back and do it another way. I wouldn’t have gotten on the podium. And you know I would explain to people like basically how do you think I do all of these things on the basketball court and you can look at my resume. There’s no way you can do all these things without practicing.”
Fortunately, Ja’s grenade celebration has yet to explode on him, so he still has the time to turn things around. But in the end, it’s his call.
Morant is in charge of his life and his NBA career. Hopefully, he won’t regret it like Iverson did.
