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Charles Barkley Rips Ja Morant for His New Celebration That Looks Like a Grenade Toss

Tom Dierberger

The final regular season edition of "Inside the NBA" on TNT aired on Thursday night.
The final regular season edition of "Inside the NBA" on TNT aired on Thursday night. / NBA on TNT

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and his new on-court celebrations have been the talk of the NBA in recent weeks.

Morant, who once served a 25-game suspension for flashing a gun during an Instagram Live video, was warned by the NBA for pointing finger guns at Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield during a game. The next night, he did it again to celebrate a three-pointer against the Miami Heat.

On Tuesday, Morant debuted a new celebration—one that appears to be him mimicking a grenade toss into the stands. Although he apparently says the celebration is him simply blocking out the outside noise, NBA legend Charles Barkley was having none of it while speaking about Morant on TNT during halftime of a game between the Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves.

"I know one person's happy right now," Barkley said. "Taylor Jenkins ain't got to deal with this crap. He's going to get another job that he deserves. [He's saying], 'I don't have to deal with this immature stuff.'"

Jenkins, of course, was shockingly fired by the Grizzlies back in March.

Fellow Inside the NBA analyst Kenny Smith also noted Morant's track record with weapons.

"He has a history that maybe he should leave the celebrations where people might die alone," Smith said.

Morant and the Grizzlies entered Thursday night as the No. 6 playoff seed in the Western Conference, but they trailed the Wolves by 22 points heading into the fourth quarter. If Memphis loses, it will be in a three-way tie for sixth place with the Wolves and Warriors.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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