Ja Morant is one of the most spectacular basketball players on the planet. He is also living proof that having a world class jump shot does not guarantee that anything sensible is happening between your ears.
The Memphis Grizzlies star has spent years turning what should have been a celebration of his extraordinary talent into an exhausting parade of gun videos, suspensions, alleged fights, family confrontations and public tantrums. He has apologised, promised to do better, attended counselling and then managed to find himself back in trouble.
At some point, the excuses become almost as embarrassing as the behaviour.
Morant has earned an enormous fortune, secured major sponsorships and been handed opportunities most aspiring basketball players would sacrifice everything to receive. Yet he has repeatedly behaved as though professional success is an inconvenience that gets in the way of his personal drama.
The guns are bad enough. The alleged altercations are worse. But the truly baffling part is how many opportunities he has had to stop, think and make a different decision.
This is not about demanding that a basketball player be a saint. It is about a grown man repeatedly creating avoidable problems, apologising when the consequences arrive and then apparently struggling to understand why people are losing patience.
His talent is extraordinary. His decision making has often been an absolute circus.
Is a prick because…
1. The second gun video made the first apology look bloody pointless
In March 2023, Morant appeared on Instagram Live holding a gun at a Colorado nightclub. The NBA suspended him for eight games, and Morant publicly apologised, saying he needed to work on himself and manage stress more effectively.
He subsequently attended counselling in Florida, but the treatment lasted less than two weeks. He later acknowledged that such a short period did not mean he was suddenly a completely different person.
Then, in May 2023, he appeared to display a gun again during another Instagram Live broadcast.
Seriously?
The first incident had cost him money, damaged his reputation and prompted a very public intervention from the NBA. He had already been given the opportunity to reflect, seek help and demonstrate that he understood the seriousness of his behaviour.
Instead, he was back in a virtually identical controversy barely two months later.
There is no verified basis for claiming that his counselling was entirely fake or that he never attended it. The damning fact is that the intervention and the public promises had not prevented a repeat of the same reckless behaviour.
Morant was not an inexperienced teenager unaware that his actions had consequences. He was a professional athlete with a lucrative contract, an enormous audience and a league that had just handed him an unmistakable warning.
The NBA eventually suspended him for 25 games.
An eight game suspension, an apology, counselling and a promise to change. Apparently, the lesson needed a much larger font.
Read about his second gun incident and suspension.
2. He punched a 17 year old during a basketball game
In July 2022, Morant was involved in an altercation with Joshua Holloway, a teenager who had been playing pickup basketball at the Morant family home.
According to the accounts presented in the resulting legal dispute, an argument broke out after Holloway threw a basketball that struck Morant in the face. Morant admitted in court that he punched the teenager, arguing that he acted in self defence. His friend Davonte Pack also punched Holloway.
Holloway sued Morant, alleging assault and seeking damages. The case eventually took a turn in Morant’s favour: in April 2025, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Morant had acted in self defence and was protected from civil liability.
That outcome matters, and it would be dishonest to pretend Morant was found liable for assault.
But the episode still paints a remarkable picture of how a supposedly casual basketball session can descend into legal proceedings involving an NBA superstar, a teenager and multiple punches.
Morant could have walked away. He could have cooled things down. Instead, a dispute during a game ended up being fought over in court.
The judge’s ruling settled the civil claim. It did not magically turn the entire episode into an example of exemplary judgement.
Read the reporting on the teenager’s lawsuit and its dismissal.
3. His mother’s shoe shop argument somehow became his problem too
In July 2022, Morant’s mother, Jamie, reportedly became involved in a dispute with an employee at a Finish Line shoe shop in a Memphis shopping mall. According to the employee, Givon Busby, she became angry over the service and called her son.
Morant subsequently arrived with a group of friends.
Busby alleged that Morant threatened him and that he hid in a stockroom for nearly an hour because he feared for his safety. He said Morant shouted through the door and threatened to wait for him to finish work. The mall’s security director also reported a confrontation involving Morant and his group.
These were allegations reported by the Washington Post, not criminal convictions. Morant was not charged over the reported incident.
But consider the sheer absurdity of it. One of the most recognisable basketball players in America, earning millions of dollars, allegedly became embroiled in a confrontation over a dispute in a shoe shop.
What exactly was the endgame here? Was the employee supposed to be impressed that a basketball superstar had turned up with a crowd of mates?
If the account is accurate, it was an astonishingly disproportionate response to an ordinary retail dispute. Even if Morant believed his mother had been treated badly, there were ways to deal with it that did not involve a reported confrontation with a shop employee.
Being wealthy and famous should make it easier to resolve petty disputes, not provide the resources to turn them into intimidating spectacles.
Read the investigation into the shoe shop incident.
4. A high school volleyball game became another family confrontation
In September 2022, Morant and members of his family were involved in a controversy at a high school volleyball game following a dispute involving his sister and another teenager.
A police report described Morant, family members and others arriving at the school after the argument. Reports also included allegations that an associate threatened students and knocked a phone from someone’s hand. A parent reportedly wanted to press charges against Morant and his mother, although no adults were charged over the incident.
Again, the allegations should not be confused with proven criminal conduct.
But why did a teenage disagreement apparently need to escalate into a confrontation involving adults and a group arriving at a school event?
There is a difference between supporting your family and allowing every personal dispute to become a public showdown. If someone you care about has an argument, the sensible response is to establish what happened and calm things down, not turn the situation into an intimidating spectacle.
Morant’s life has repeatedly featured situations in which an ordinary conflict seems to become a much bigger affair. This incident added another uncomfortable chapter to that pattern.
Read the reporting on the high school and family incidents.
5. The Indiana Pacers laser controversy was another completely unnecessary distraction
In January 2023, after a game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers, members of the Pacers organisation reported that a red laser had been pointed towards them from a vehicle associated with Morant and his companions.
Some believed the laser could have been attached to a firearm. The incident prompted an NBA investigation, but the league said it found no evidence that anyone had been threatened with a weapon.
That distinction matters. There was no established finding that Morant pointed a gun at the Pacers.
Nevertheless, the incident became another controversy surrounding Morant and his entourage. His friend Davonte Pack was subsequently banned from Grizzlies home games for a year, according to Morant.
It is difficult to understand why a professional athlete with so much to lose would allow himself to become associated with yet another episode involving alleged intimidation and a possible weapon.
The NBA had already been paying attention to his conduct. His career was progressing at an extraordinary rate. He had every incentive to keep his circle, his behaviour and his public image under control.
Instead, the controversy added another entry to an already growing list of distractions.
Read the timeline of the Pacers incident and other controversies.
6. Even the finger guns became a problem
After the two real gun controversies, you might have expected Morant to retire anything resembling a gun gesture. Permanently. No discussion required.
Instead, in April 2025, the NBA fined him $75,000 for repeatedly making finger gun gestures during games after being warned that the celebrations were inappropriate.
Finger guns.
This is the point at which the whole saga starts to sound like a parody written by someone who thought the first five incidents were too subtle.
The league had suspended him for displaying a gun on social media twice. He knew exactly why the subject was sensitive. He had already issued apologies and spoken about the importance of learning from his mistakes.
Yet he continued making gestures that invited precisely the sort of scrutiny he should have been trying to avoid.
Nobody is arguing that a finger gesture is equivalent to carrying a firearm. The point is that Morant had an unusually obvious reason to avoid it.
Most people do not need a six figure salary, a meeting with the NBA commissioner and multiple suspensions to understand when a joke has become a liability.
Read about the NBA’s $75,000 fine.
7. His father became part of the show too
Morant’s father, Tee, has frequently been visible at NBA games, supporting his son from courtside. There is nothing wrong with a father being proud of his child.
But in January 2023, Tee became involved in a heated exchange with former NFL player Shannon Sharpe during a game between the Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers. Ja Morant and other Grizzlies players also approached Sharpe, and arena security had to intervene before the situation settled down.
Sharpe and Tee Morant later reconciled, and the incident did not become a lasting feud.
Still, it was another example of a basketball game being overshadowed by a confrontation involving the Morant circle.
The NBA is supposed to be entertainment. Fans pay to watch elite athletes compete, not to witness an extended family dispute unfold courtside.
Morant cannot be held responsible for every word spoken by his father. But when a player’s family and entourage repeatedly become part of the surrounding drama, it inevitably affects the public perception of the player himself.
There is a difference between having a supportive family and having every disagreement turn into a spectacle.
Read the report on the Shannon Sharpe confrontation.
8. Then he started falling out with his own coaching staff
In November 2025, Morant was suspended for one game by the Memphis Grizzlies after making critical comments about the coaching staff following a defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Morant had scored just eight points and struggled badly from the field. When asked about the team’s performance, he repeatedly directed reporters towards the coaches rather than offering a substantive explanation of his own display.
The team suspended him for conduct detrimental to the team.
Of course, players are allowed to disagree with coaches. Great teams do not require everyone to smile politely after every defeat. But there is a professional way to express frustration, and there is a way to make a bad night even worse.
Morant chose the latter.
When a player performs poorly, publicly shifts responsibility and ends up suspended by his own team, the problem is no longer just a missed shot or a bad tactical decision. It becomes a question of professionalism.
A franchise player is expected to help lead the team through difficult moments, not create another distraction every time things stop going his way.
Read the report on his suspension after the coaching dispute.
Is not a prick because…
1. His basketball talent is undeniable
Morant is an electrifying player. His speed, athleticism and ability to finish around the rim make him one of the most exciting guards of his generation. He has earned All-Star recognition and produced some extraordinary performances.
His talent is not the problem. The problem is that his behaviour has repeatedly threatened to overshadow it.
2. He has apologised and sought help
Morant has publicly acknowledged mistakes and attended counselling after the first gun incident. He has also faced significant consequences, including lengthy suspensions.
People can change, and a career should not be permanently defined by the worst decisions someone has made. The real test is whether the lessons last.
3. The teenager’s lawsuit was dismissed
Morant maintained that he acted in self defence during the pickup basketball altercation, and a judge ultimately dismissed the teenager’s civil lawsuit on that basis. That legal outcome deserves to be acknowledged rather than ignored simply because the incident makes for an ugly headline.
4. He still has time to turn things around
Morant remains a gifted athlete with the opportunity to build a remarkable career. He does not need to become a perfect role model. He needs to make better decisions, stay focused on basketball and stop allowing avoidable controversies to dominate his public image.
Ja Morant could be remembered as one of the most exciting basketball players of his generation. Instead, too much of his story has become a catalogue of distractions that he had the money, talent and opportunities to avoid.
The gun videos were reckless. The repeated controversies were unnecessary. The suspensions and public confrontations have damaged a career that should be defined by extraordinary basketball.
He has been given warnings, second chances and opportunities to demonstrate that he has learned from his mistakes. The next chapter is entirely up to him.
At some point, the excuses run out. Morant does not need another apology tour or another public declaration about personal growth. He needs to show, through his decisions, that he understands what he stands to lose.
Because being able to jump over defenders is an incredible talent. Being unable to get out of your own way is a very expensive weakness.
