Ja Morant is back with the Grizz! Memphis star cheers on team from sidelines after eight-game ban
Ja Morant is back! The Grizzlies star gets a warm reception while rooting for Memphis after an eight-game suspension for a strip club gun scandal, and coach Terry Jenkins is “hopeful” he’ll return to the court on Wednesday.
Ja Morant is almost ready to return to an NBA floor, and coach Taylor Jenkins says Wednesday is currently the goal.
Memphis plays Houston on Wednesday night in what could be Morant’s first game since a March 3 loss at Denver.
“We’re hopeful for Wednesday as long as everything is medically resolved,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said before the game before the Grizzlies faced Dallas on Monday night.
Morant returned to the team on Monday after a two-week absence following an Instagram live in the early morning hours of March 4, which showed the superstar brandishing a gun inside a Denver strip club.
The former No. 2 overall pick was on the sidelines of the team’s game against the Mavericks at the FedEx Forum in downtown Memphis, TN on Monday.
Ja Morant received a warm reception when he returned to the FedEx Forum on Monday night.
Morant, 23, found himself in trouble after flashing a gun at a nightclub on social media in Denver following a Grizzlies win against the Nuggets.
On Sunday, the Grizzlies announced that Morant would not play against Dallas due to a “return to competition reconditioning.”
He arrived on the court just before kickoff to a standing ovation from the Memphis crowd. He then patted some of his teammates and was part of the line greeting the starters as they prepared to start the game.
Morant met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver in New York City before the NBA announced his suspension on March 15, including six games he had already missed, eight in total.
The league’s investigation found that Morant was “holding a firearm while intoxicated,” but did not prove that the gun was owned by Morant “or that he displayed it for more than a brief period.”
The NBA also did not find that Morant had the gun with him on the flight from Memphis to Denver, or that he had the gun at any NBA facility.
Colorado police conducted their own investigation and concluded there was no reason to charge Morant with a crime after investigating the circumstances surrounding the video.
Morant said in an ESPN interview on March 15 that the gun was not his and that he takes full responsibility for his actions. But the strip club incident wasn’t Morant’s first surprising move. The Grizzlies had been talking to Morant about his off-court conduct even before the March 4 incident.
“I can see the picture I painted of myself with my recent mistakes,” Morant told ESPN. “But going forward, I’m going to show everyone who Ja really is, what she’s all about, and I’m going to change this narrative that everyone has.”
Morant was on hand to see the Grizz in person for the first time since his leave.
The former No. 2 overall pick is now eligible to return from an NBA-imposed suspension.