Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is facing a $75,000 fine from the NBA after making finger gun gestures twice during Thursday night’s game against the Miami Heat, ignoring NBA warnings from hours earlier.
“Morant was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light,” the league said in a statement to NBC News on Friday.
Morant made the celebratory gestures throughout Thursday’s game, a battle the Grizzlies won 110-108 after Morant hit the game-winning basket at the last second.
The NBA investigated Morant earlier this week when he and the Golden State Warriors’ Buddy Hield used the finger-gun motions towards each other at the end of their game Tuesday night, which ended with a 134-125 Warriors’ win.
Both players and teams were issued warnings by the NBA with no penalties, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Thursday. The league determined the celebrations were not violent in nature, but inappropriate and not to be used further.
Morant told the Associated Press on Thursday he was “well aware” the gesture made headlines after Tuesday’s game and was not bothered by the criticism.
“I’m kind of used to it,” the Grizzlies guard said. “I was pretty much a villain for two years now. Every little thing, if somebody can say something negative about me, it’s going to be out there. So, yeah. I don’t care no more.”
This is not the first time the NBA has cracked down on Morant for gun-related incidents; he faced two suspensions over the matter in 2023.
The first was an eight-game suspension for live streaming with an apparent gun in a Denver-area nightclub, followed by a more severe 25-game suspension when he waved a gun again on Instagram live from the passenger seat of a car.
Morant did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment.
The Grizzlies are set to play again Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Detroit Pistons.
