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After Ja Morant twice flashed gun gestures during games, the NBA came down hard on him.
The Memphis Grizzlies star was fined $75,000 for "twice making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court."
The NBA confirmed reports it had warned Morant the gesture "could be interpreted in a negative light."
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Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant reacts after a basket during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors. (Petre Thomas/Imagn Images)
Morant first made the gesture Monday against the Golden State Warriors, and reports said the NBA was investigating the incident, giving Morant and Buddy Hield a warning.
On Thursday night, Morant did it again, just five minutes into a game.
Considering Morant’s history with gun-related suspensions, the gesture blew up across the basketball world. He was suspended eight games in March 2023 after brandishing a handgun on social media at the strip club Shotgun Willie’s outside Denver.
Then Morant was suspended for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season after he flashed a handgun again on a live social media video.
Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies dribbles the ball during a game against the Miami Heat April 3, 2025, at Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla. (Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
Ahead of the suspensions, Morant found himself in trouble on more than one occasion, including one incident in which he got into a fight with a 17-year-old during a pickup basketball game at Morant's home. A judge later ruled Morant acted in self-defense. Four days earlier, Morant allegedly "threatened" the head of security at a Memphis mall, and a member of Morant's group allegedly shoved the security official in the head.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant dances as overtime expires against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. (Stephen Lew/USA Today Sports)
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Morant was also placed under the microscope after a January 2023 game in which an unidentified individual in the NBA star's vehicle was accused of shining a laser pointer at the Indiana Pacers' team bus. It happened after some members of Morant's entourage were involved in a confrontation with a group of people in the Pacers' traveling party.
Fox News' Scott Thompson and Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
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