The current franchise player of the Memphis Grizzlies Ja Morant recently made his come back to the NBA following his regrettable conclusion of his 25-match ban, and the 24-year-old showed absolutely zero rust in his game, leading his team to a 115-113 victory over fellow Western Conference side New Orleans Pelicans. Ja Morant dropped a total of 34 points, six rebounds and eight assists, alongside a couple of steals and a block in only Memphis’s seventh win in the 2023/2024 NBA Season, handling the opponents their 12th loss as a result.
Why Was Ja Morant Suspended?
The 24-year-old Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies were slapped with a 25-match suspension due to a series of incidents that most notably included an Instagram Live video of the point guard displaying a gun at a Colorado nightclub hours after their loss to the Denver Nuggets. Since NBA players are not allowed to possess a firearm “Of any kind” in numerous settings, Ja Morant would then enter a counseling programme and was suspended by the NBA for eight games upon a meeting with commissioner Adam Silver and other top NBA executives.
Just when everyone thought the Ja Morant case can be resolved following the end of the ban, the player was seen flashing his gun in another Instagram Live video posted by his friend, Davonte Pack. The repeated offence shocked the NBA and top personnel, leading to the ultimate 25-game halt to his young NBA career as a severe disciplinary action and he must complete a league-sponsored program to address his wrongdoings.
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BREAKING: Ja Morant has been suspended for 25 games by the NBA, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/0hZ7CRqyEA
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 16, 2023
Ja Morant Hit the Game Winner for Grizzlies
Ja Morant had a slow start in the first half of his first game back for the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring only three and four points in his team’s 25-point and 16-point quarters. He then erupted to a 27-point second-half outing, including 14 points as well as the game winner in the final 12 minutes.
The score was tied at 113 apiece between the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Pelicans, and Ja Morant, who had already scored the previous four points for his team in the closing moments of the game, received the ball with 9.6 seconds remaining, and Herb Jones just could not prevent the 24-year-old point guard driving into the basket despite his teammate Dyson Daniels’s help defence. Ja Morant’s eventual basket managed to clip the board, before landing inside the basket upon the buzzer. The Memphis Grizzlies closed out a 38-point quarter for their comeback win over the New Orleans Pelicans as a result.
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Ja Morant’s Words During the Post-Game Interview
“They showed me a lot of support, they got on my *Expletive* a little bit, too, but it was needed. Obviously, learn from me for like, in this world a lot of us make mistakes. If you make a mistake, have another chance to fix it and reinvent yourself. I’m seeing, I’m hearing a lot of, ‘Ja, I’m proud of you with how you carry yourself,’ from them, and I can see how it changed them as well,” Ja Morant had this to say during the post-match conference of the Grizzlies-Pelicans clash.
The 24-year-old point guard then added: “I feel like that’s the good that happened during this process. I actually don’t wish it happened, but we definitely took me, my family, my team to the next level. It was the perfect ending, perfect day, being able to come back and play, and delivering the game-winner.”
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