Ja Morant Debuts New Weapon-Themed Celebration After Finger Guns Controversy

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts after a basket during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at FedExForum.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts after a basket during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at FedExForum. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
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Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has put his imaginary finger guns in their holsters for now, having finally found a different way to celebrate on the court.

After Morant sank a three-pointer in the third quarter of the Grizzlies' 124-100 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, the Grizzlies guard showed off a brand new celebration to the crowd at Spectrum Center. Morant appeared to mimic throwing a grenade into the stands and then covered his ears for the imaginary blast.

Take a look and judge for yourself:

Here's another angle:

The Grizzlies commentators seemed totally oblivious to Morant's new celebration, but fans were immediately onto him. Morant has gotten himself into hot water with the league for his notorious finger gun celebrations in the last week, performing the gesture against the Golden State Warriors on April 1 and then two days later in a game against the Miami Heat.

Morant received a warning the first time and a $75,000 fine the second time after the league specifically told him not to do it, warning him that the finger gun gesture "could be interpreted in a negative light."

We'll see if the NBA has anything to say about his new alleged grenade celebration.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.