Gunning his way out of the NBA
Kin fear Ja Morant’s brilliant career at risk after toting vid & ‘altercations’
Ja Morant has an obsession with guns — and he’s taking direct aim at his career.
The $193 million, 23-year-old hoops phenom is already being compared to the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, cashing in on lucrative deals with Nike and Powerade.
But he’s threatening to throw it all away.
The Memphis Grizzlies benched the star point guard for at least two games after he filmed himself flashing a handgun at a bar early Saturday morning, spurring a police investigation.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins hinted Sunday that Morant’s suspension could be longer.
“We’re taking it one day at a time,” Jenkins told reporters before a game against the Clippers. “There’s no definitive timeline . . . It’s really not a timetable situation.”
The clip on Morant’s own Instagram account — which showed the two-time NBA All-Star shirtless in a club, grinning as he waved a pistol at the camera — is just the latest of his troubles.
On heels of WaPo report
Morant, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, posted the video just days after The Washington Post published a bombshell report detailing two alleged confrontations Morant had last summer: One with a 17-yearold basketball prospect at his Tennessee home and another with a security guard at a Memphis mall.
When paired with other incidents — such as allegations that Morant’s entourage may have pointed a red laser that was possibly attached to a gun at members of the Indiana Pacers in February — a portrait begins to emerge of a young athlete who’s willing to squander the tremendous opportunities placed before him.
The mall squabble, which happened this past July at a Finish Line shoe store, started when Morant’s mother started arguing with an employee, according to records obtained by the DC newspaper.
She called Morant, who along with his entourage eventually confronted the director of mall security in the parking lot. They quarreled, and one of Morant’s friends allegedly pushed the guard in the head.
As they were leaving, Morant allegedly told the others that he wanted to find out what time the guard got off work. The guard felt threatened and sought to file a police report.
Eventually the parties left the scene and no ar
rests were made. Four days later, on July 26, Morant and a friend allegedly assaulted a 17-yearold male during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s brick mansion outside Memphis.
Pickup-game incident
The teenager — who was reportedly enamored with Morant and told police he thought of the Grizzlies star as something of a mentor — was guarding Morant when things turned ugly.
It’s not clear what provoked the exchange. But Morant reportedly threw the ball hard at the boy when he was checking it in. The boy chucked it back equally as hard, but the ball went through Morant’s hands and hit him in the face, the boy later told police.
Morant allegedly put his chin on the youth’s shoulder, then asked his friend, “Do I do it to him?”
His friend said he should, The Washington Post said. So Morant allegedly punched the boy, connecting with his chin just as the friend attacked from the other side, catching the youth in a pincer of flying fists.
The pair continued the beatdown until they were pulled off. Morant then allegedly went into his house, got his gun, tucked it in his pants and walked outside. He didn’t pull the firearm out, the report said. But he put his hand on it.
That’s when dad Tee Morant yelled at his All-NBA son to go back inside.
Morant later told the cops that he acted in self-defense because the boy had thrown the ball at him, then stepped forward and pulled his pants up. He interpreted this as a sign the kid wanted to brawl.
“Like all right, now I have to protect myself,” Morant told detectives. “I swung first . . . The ball was the first swing to me.” Allegations between the parties continued to fly as weeks went by — including a police report filed by the Morants that said the boy allegedly threatened to “come back and light this place up like fireworks.” In September, the teen and his mother sued Morant and his friend, Davonte Pack. But the lawsuit, first reported by TMZ in January, was immediately sealed, according to reports.
One of Morant’s attorneys reportedly called it a shakedown.
Rebecca Adelman, the family’s attorney, did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.
In a January statement, Adelman’s firm called the fight a “tragic situation involving an assault and battery by two adults on a minor during a basketball game at the home of Mr. Morant.”
At the same time, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office declared there was “not enough evidence to proceed with a case.”
Morant’s antics have deeply disappointed those closest to him, sources said, including his biggest defender, Tee Morant, who was caught in a heated exchange with
Fox Sports host Shannon Sharpe at a January Lakers game.
“His father is really disappointed with the choices that his son has made lately, and the fact that his life choices led him to holding up a handgun is beyond stupid,” a source told The Post, adding that the elder Morant was “shocked” by the Instagram video.
“Making it into the NBA is already like drawing a lottery ticket, so for him to fumble the bag is even more disappointing,” the friend said.
“He was raised in a two-family household and attended private school. So being a thug and trying to portray that lifestyle is the farthest thing from the truth when it comes to Ja’s upbringing . . . He was not raised that way.”