MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant has been suspended for 25 games by the NBA after a league investigation into a May social media post in which the Grizzlies point guard displayed a gun.
The schedule is not out yet, but it appears this would make Morant eligible to return in December 2023.
In a statement released Friday morning, the NBA said Morant was suspended without pay for "conduct detrimental to the league."
"The league office found that, on May 13, Morant intentionally and prominently displayed a gun while in a car with several other individuals as they were leaving a social gathering in Memphis. Morant wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded and that the recording was being live streamed on Instagram Live, despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined. On May 16, Morant issued a statement taking full accountability for his actions.
Morant’s suspension begins immediately and will remain in effect through the first 25 games of the 2023-24 NBA regular season for which he is otherwise eligible and able to play. He will also be required to meet certain conditions before he returns to play and will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games, during the course of his suspension."
“Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.
“For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time. Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior.”
Grizzlies statement:
The Grizzlies responded to the NBA's ruling with the following: "We respect the League’s decision to suspend Ja Morant following this latest episode. Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them."
Morant statement:
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski posted the following statement from Ja Morant:
"I've had time to reflect and I realize how much hurt I've caused. I want to apologize to the NBA, the Grizzlies, my teammates and the city of Memphis. To Adam Silver, Zach Kleiman and Robert Pera - who gave me the opportunity to be a professional athlete and have supported me - I'm sorry for the harm I've done. To the kids who look up to me, I'm sorry for failing you as a role model. I promise I'm going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I'm going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I'm going to make it up to you, I promise.
I'm spending the offseason and my suspension continuing to work on my own mental health and decision making. I'm also going to be training so that I'm ready to go when I can be back on the court. I know my teammates are going to hold it down and I'm so sorry I won't be out there with you at the beginning of the season.
I hope you'll give me the chance to prove to you over time I'm a better man than what I've been showing you."
NBPA Statement:
NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio issued the following statement:
“Ja has expressed his remorse and accepted responsibility for his actions, and we support him unequivocally as he does whatever is necessary to represent himself, our players and our league in the best possible light. As to the discipline imposed, which keeps him off the court until December and requires some unstated conditions to be met before he can return, we believe it is excessive and inappropriate for a number of reasons including the facts involved in this particular incident, and that it is not fair and consistent with past discipline in our league. We will explore with Ja all options and next steps.”
In a May 13 Instagram Live, Morant seemed to pull out a gun while dancing and listening to music in a parked car with his friend, Davonte Pack. The Grizzlies suspended Morant from all team activities shortly after the video began to circulate the next day.
The NBA suspended Morant for eight games for a similar incident in March. The 23-year-old sought counseling for stress management after recording himself brandishing a gun while intoxicated at a Colorado night club following the Grizzlies March 3 loss to the Nuggets.
Commissioner Adam Silver called Morant’s conduct “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,” but felt Morant expressed “sincere contrition and remorse” after the first incident.
After the Grizzlies' first-round playoff defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers, Morant said he needed to be more disciplined moving forward.
“I've just got to be better with my decision-making,” he said April 28 after the Grizzlies lost 125-85 in Game 6. “That's pretty much it. Off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just more discipline.”
Ja's history of off-court incidents
Morant has had a string of off court incidents in the 2022-2023 season. Here is a list of all the things he's been in the headlines for away from the hardwood:
July 2022
According to a report from the Washington Post, Morant and a group of his friends arrived to a Finish Line shoe store in a Memphis mall to assist Morant's mother. His mother apparently was dissatisfied with the service she received from an employee and called Morant.
The group allegedly threatened the employee before leaving and encountering mall security in the parking lot.
The mall's head of security filed a police report, which included the guard alleging that a friend of Morant's shoved the guard in the head. No arrests were made.
The same Washington Post report revealed another incident at Morant's home weeks later. Joshua Holloway, then 17-years-old, alleged that Morant and a friend beat him up.
Holloway said that the incident stemmed from a pickup basketball game where he went to check the ball to Morant and it hit the Grizzlies star in the face.
Morant responded by repeatedly punching Holloway in the head and knocking him to the ground. Morant's friend, Davonte Pack, allegedly joined in. Before Holloway left the property, he says Morant went in the home and when he came back outside, flashed a gun in his waistband at the teen.
Morant told police he was acting in self defense and his legal team denies the gun part of the story. No files were charged. Holloway is now suing for damages.
January 2023
During a Memphis Grizzlies-Indiana Pacers game in January, Morant and some of his teammates got into an on-court altercation with members of the Pacers. Pack, sitting courtside, was escorted out of the arena after he got into a verbal altercation with Pacers' players on the court. He received a year long ban from FedExForum.
After the game, members of the Pacers told The Athletic that Morant entered a van in the FedExForum garage. They say that same van trained a red-laser on members of the team as it left the garage. The Pacers feared the laser was attached to a gun.
The NBA investigated the incident and could not corroborate that a gun was present.
March 2023
After a road loss to the Denver Nuggets on March 3, Morant went live on Instagram inside a Denver area nightclub, Shotgun Willie's. During the live video, Morant was seen flashing a gun.
Morant would later apologize and received a team-issued suspension where he missed five games. The NBA later issued their own suspension of eight games without pay for "conduct detrimental to the league" and backdated it to include games Morant already missed.
May 2023
Two months later, Morant was seen flashing a gun on Instagram Live a second time.
In the second instance, Morant appeared to be in a stationary car with Pack, who was broadcasting live. Pack panned the camera to Morant rapping along to a song before panning back to himself.
Pack panned the camera to Morant a second time and the Grizzlies point guard could be seen waving a gun briefly before Pack dropped the camera.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant from all team activities. The NBA later issued a 25-game suspension for the 2024 season.
How much money will Morant lose while suspended?
While the on-court implications for Morant's absence are obvious, what's lesser known is just how much money Ja is going to lose from his suspension, between game wages lost and sponsorship deals.
Contract money lost
The NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement outlines a player can only lose 1/145th of his game salary due to a suspension under 20 games, or 1/110th of salary if a suspension is longer than 20 games.
Since Morant's suspension is 25 games, he'll lose game salary at the 1/110th mark.
Morant recently signed a five-year, $192 million contract extension that begins on July 1, meaning he'll lose $304,000 per game, or, $7.6 million in total. He's already lost money on that deal, likely from off-court incidents.
Ja's extension included a Rose Rule clause, meaning if he made the All-NBA team in 2022-2023, before the extension went into effect, the contract would rise to five years, $231.4 million, a $39 million increase over the length of the contract.
Morant, who had the NBA's sixth-highest player efficiency rating among point guards with 23.52, received just 44 All-NBA points based on votes, well behind Damien Lillard's 137, the lowest mark among All-NBA guards, meaning Morant's off-court incidents likely led to his exclusion from the team, and his lost contract money.
The Grizzlies will be able to recover half of Morant's contract money lost in cap space, or about $3.8 million total.
Endorsement money lost
Like most NBA superstars, contract payments aren't Ja Morant's only source of revenue for the 2023-2024 season. Morant also has several major endorsement deals which could be at stake.
Along with major endorsements from Hulu, Beats by Dre, Panini America and Powerade, Ja also has a multi-year endorsement deal from Nike worth $12.1 million, which included a sneaker line, the "Ja 1s."
Morant is expected to earn anywhere from $20 million to $45 million in 2023-2024 on endorsement deals, but that number is largely in flux with many of his major brands disassociating themselves with him.
Powerade pulled their ad campaign centered around Morant in March when he was suspended for the first gun incident, and has not mentioned him since on social media.
Nike made a similar move in May after the second gun incident, pulling the release of the Ja 1 "Hunger" edition from their website ahead of an anticipated May 25 release, and pulling the line from their website entirely a short while later.
After the announcement Friday of the 25-games suspension, ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne posted this statement from Nike: “We are pleased that Ja is taking accountability and prioritizing his well-being. We will continue to support him on and off the court.”
Hulu has also pulled their ads featuring Ja, which debuted before the NBA season in 2022.
While these brands may not fully cancel their deals with Ja, he could be facing millions of dollars in potential lost revenue, equaling, if not surpassing, the amount he'll forfeit from his contract.
Are the Grizzlies still contenders without Ja?
The Grizzlies are 33-17 without Ja Morant since the start of the 2021-2022 season, the bulk of those wins coming in that season when the team posted a 21-7 mark without their star.
That record regressed to a more pedestrian 12-10 in 2022-2023, although Memphis still proved a resilient team without him, mostly thanks to their roster depth in key areas.
Tyus Jones, widely considered one of the best non-starters in the league, was key for the Grizzlies without Ja, and will return for the 2023-2024 season. He's in line for the starting point guard role without Morant, and will need to continue his stellar play without him.
Steven Adams, the team's top rebounder when he's healthy, is also set to make a return in 2023-2024, and will be an impactful presence in the front court.
With Ja Morant out, most of the Grizzlies' success will hinge upon the play of their young core, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. If these two franchise cornerstones can continue their dynamic play, the Grizzlies will very much find themselves in contention for a playoff spot.
However, these Memphis Grizzlies have never been without their star for this length of time, and he won't be on the sidelines to support them. It's also unknown if Morant can play out the entire season healthy, something he hasn't been able to do since his pandemic-shortened rookie season, when he played in 67 of 72 games.
Is it possible for the Grizzlies to win with Ja out for 25 consecutive games? Yes. Is it likely they win as many games as they have the past two seasons, enough to earn a No. 2 seed in the West? Probably not. But the Grizzlies should be in a position to grab a playoff spot next year, and as the Miami Heat proved in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, all you need is a ticket to the dance.