Ja Morant Fined $75K for Defying NBA Warning on Finger Guns

Ja Morant won’t holster the finger guns. 

The NBA warned him Thursday about making a gun gesture at the Warriors’ bench on Tuesday. By Thursday night, he was doing it again against the Heat.

Morant hit a three in the game’s opening minutes and celebrated by pointing both hands to resemble guns on his way down the court. The gesture came just hours after the NBA warned both Morant and Warriors guard Buddy Hield, in addition to their respective teams, not to do so. The NBA found the gestures “were not intended to be violent in nature but were inappropriate,” according to ESPN.

The NBA said Friday morning it had fined Morant $75,000 because he had been “previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light,” the league office said in a statement.

Both Hield and Morant were hit with double technical fouls in the final minute of the Warriors’ 134–125 win over the Grizzlies on Tuesday after both players made the gesture toward the opposing team’s bench. 

Morant has a history with firearms. He’s served two suspensions in his six-year career for brandishing one on social media. 

The first suspension came in March 2023, during an Instagram Live stream from his personal account that showed Morant partying at a nightclub near Denver after a loss to the Nuggets. He was suspended indefinitely and wound up missing eight games. 

He was later suspended for the first 25 games of the 2023–2024 season for a second offense for conduct detrimental to the NBA after he brandished a firearm on another Instagram Live stream two months after the first incident. The suspension cost Morant $7.5 million.

At the time of his second suspension, the NBA said Morant would only be able to return from the absence if he met certain conditions with the league, which included regular check-ins with the league and its players’ association. It also included fulfilling a program that tailored to the circumstances that led to his suspension. Morant served the second suspension and returned from it on schedule. 

The Grizzlies are 45–32 with five regular-season games left and are clinging to the sixth seed in the Western Conference, with the Timberwolves currently holding the same record right behind them. Those final five games are critical for Memphis to avoid the play-in tournament.