published on January 19, 2024 in blog

Ja Morant Hits Apparent Gun Celebration In Win Over Pelicans

Ja Morant's barely been back on the NBA hardwood for a week, but he's already found himself mired in a bit of controversy again -- this time after he hit a celebration that appeared to feature imaginary guns.

The Grizzlies point guard pulled out the celly Tuesday night after he helped give Memphis an insurmountable lead over the Pelicans in overtime of their game in New Orleans.

AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/hwVXbU5UY7

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) December 27, 2023 @memgrizz

The 24-year-old -- who just came back from a 25-game ban for a string of incidents involving gun-related social media videos last week -- seemed to turn his hands into the shape of pistols after throwing down a thunderous alley-oop dunk, before he appeared to spray the road crowd with fake bullets.

The gestures only lasted a few seconds, before Morant returned to defense to finish off the game -- but basketball fans were still critical of the moves nonetheless.

No way @JaMorant did a gun celebration this man is funny pic.twitter.com/izLcH2ZnUE

— Case Harrison (@CaseHarrison) December 27, 2023 @CaseHarrison

Several roasted him as "tone deaf" -- particularly after he had just returned from his suspension on Dec. 19.

Of course, it's entirely possible Morant was not mimicking firing guns and was instead just simply hitting a dance -- but the hooper has yet to publicly address it all.

Morant has been a complete superstar outside of the incident vs. the Pelicans since he was reinserted into Memphis' lineup -- leading the Grizzlies to four straight wins while earning Western Conference player of the week honors.