Ja Morant led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 116-115 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
It was the team’s fourth straight win and came in particularly impressive fashion given that the Pelicans were actually 7-3 over their last 10 games coming into this one.
While Morant’s 31 points and 7 assists didn’t go unnoticed, it was a bit overshadowed by a sequence that occurred with less than 15 seconds to go in the game:
Ja Morant gun shooting celebration after dagger dunk vs Pelicans 😭#NBA #MEMvsNOP pic.twitter.com/Ev9JK60f2l
— Live Fight Sports (@Livesportsfight) December 27, 2023
Some NBA fans found Morant’s choice of celebration distasteful given his issues over the past year. Between the troubling allegations made against him by dancers and his history with firearms, people are understandably on edge.
Folks took to social media to address the matter:
No way @JaMorant did a gun celebration this man is funny pic.twitter.com/izLcH2ZnUE
— Case Harrison (@CaseHarrison) December 27, 2023
Ja Morant pulled out a gun celebration on the crowd i’m crying pic.twitter.com/RtOFdRYp3U
— CrackTOD (@CrackTod) December 27, 2023
Ja Morant pulled out a gun celebration on the crowd i’m crying pic.twitter.com/RtOFdRYp3U
— CrackTOD (@CrackTod) December 27, 2023
The backlash to Morant’s celebration got so loud that, apparently, it even reached his ears. As a result, he took to social media late Tuesday night to explain what his celebration was all about.
This is the message he retweeted breaking down why he celebrated the way he did:
Ja Morant pulled out that BR cellyyyyyyy https://t.co/IF5379EDg9 pic.twitter.com/25Kdw6u8hE
— Racqy Balboa (@RacqyDaRuler) December 27, 2023
There was nothing nefarious about it at all. Because they were playing New Orleans, Morant opted to do an infamous LSU celebration. That’s it.
It is easy to see why some don’t want to give Morant the benefit of the doubt. Between the wild videos his sister been posting and his viral four-word message after returning from suspension, it is debatable what lessons the star has taken away from his woes over the past 12 months.
Ciara’s Intimate Video For Russell Wilson Amid Broncos Rumors: https://t.co/7iy6qREr1Z
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 27, 2023
That said, it seems like Tuesday night’s celebration was fairly harmless.
Will Morant or the NBA choose to offer any further messaging regarding Morant’s celebration over the next 24 hours? Time will tell.
Related: LSU Star Angel Reese’s Provocative Christmas Outfit Goes Viral
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
