Ja Morant seems committed to his new “grenade” celebration – for now – and Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley have some thoughts.
The NBA’s decision to fine Morant $75,000 after multiple gun gestures led to the Memphis Grizzlies guard changing his 3-point celebration to one in which he mimics throwing a grenade. According to Morant, that’s the celebration fans can get used to seeing for the time being.
“That’s my celebration now until somebody else got a problem with it, and I’ll find another one,” Morant said at Thursday’s shootaround, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Morant used the celebration, where he mimics pulling the pin on a grenade, throwing it into the stands and then covering his ears, in Thursday night’s 141-125 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Smith and Barkley reacted to Morant’s new celebration on the “NBA on TNT” show.
“He has a history that maybe he should leave the celebrations where people might die alone,” Smith said.
Said Barkley: “I know one person’s happy right now. Taylor Jenkins ain’t got to deal with this crap.”
The Grizzlies fired Jenkins as head coach with less than a month remaining in the regular season.
Asked Thursday about his reaction to the fines, Morant smiled, paused and then said: “You really want to know? I wasn’t surprised. Just was showing people what’s pretty much been evident for the last two years.”
Ja Morant is one of the most spectacular NBA players, with an explosiveness second to none and a set of skills that make him box office talent.
The Memphis Grizzlies guard is also one of the most controversial ballers in the league, as he has gotten in trouble multiple times, something that has affected his career.
The former Murray State University standout is one of the biggest reasons why his team is fighting for a final playoff spot as the 8th seed of the Western Conference. Memphis will play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament, and the squad that comes up on top will face the young and feisty Houston Rockets.
Morant’s grenade celebration transcends the NBA
Unfortunately, Ja Morant is once again in the middle of a controversy for his gimmicks and celebrations. After all, he’s a big influence and a role model for many kids and young people around the world. On April 4th, he was fined $75,000 for twice making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court. Morant was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light.
The gestures were made by Ja during the Grizzlies‘110-108 victory over the Miami Heat on April 3 at Kaseya Center. And days after getting that big fine, the superstar mimicked throwing a grenade into the crowd after hitting a big three. The South Carolina native mimed pulling out a grenade’s pin, threw the artifact into the stands and covered his ears during the mock explosion.
Fans were wilding out with the celebration and some asked the league to take further action into Morant‘s behavior. What some didn’t expect was that Ja’s gesture will begin to spread all over the country, with amateur and young players imitating the baller’s moves.
Grizzlies fall to the Denver Nuggets
The Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Denver Nuggets Friday night behind Nikola Jokic‘s 34th triple-double of the season as the Serbian All-Star finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists. Guard Jamal Murray also hit several clutch shots in his return.
Desmond Bane led Memphis with 24 points, and Ja Morant added 21 for the Grizzlies, who were leading by as many as 15 in the first half but watched the Nuggets chip away until closing the game on a 14-1 run over the final six minutes of the game.
After getting fined for celebrating 3-pointers with a finger guy pointed at the opponents’ bench, Ja Morant continued doing what looks like a grenade pull and lob after big buckets, although he insists it’s not what it looks like, telling ClutchPoints, “I’m taking my words and I’m throwing them out there.”
