On the court, few can slow down or stop Ja Morant. The 23-year-old superstar is averaging 27.3 points per game while also dishing out 8.3 assists, leading the Memphis Grizzlies to second place in the Western Conference.
Recently named to his second consecutive All-Star game, Morant is one of the most explosive and exciting athletes in basketball.
Off the court, Morant has been linked to strange occurrences that raise a concerning eyebrow. To be fair, the latest doesn’t directly deal with Morant, but the incident is bizarre nonetheless.
According to a report from Bob Kravitz and Sam Amick of The Athletic, “acquaintances of Morant aggressively confronted” members of the Indiana Pacers’ traveling party following the team’s matchup on Jan. 29.
The alleged incident reportedly occurred when members affiliated with the Pacers were close to the team’s bus near the loading station of FedEx Forum in Memphis when a “slow-moving SUV trained a red laser” on the individuals with Indiana. Morant was in the SUV at the time.
One of the people who had the laser trained on them spoke to The Athletic and said they felt they were “in grave danger,” mentioning they believed the laser was attached to a gun, to which a Pacers security guard located nearby commented, “That’s 100 percent a gun.”
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NBA releases statement on Ja Morant red laser situation
The Pacers made the NBA aware of the situation, which later prompted this statement from league spokesman Mike Bass.
“NBA Security and league investigators conducted an investigation interviewing numerous eyewitnesses and reviewing video surveillance following allegations made by the Indiana Pacers. While we substantiated that a postgame situation arose that was confrontational, based on interviews and other evidence gathered, we could not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon. Certain individuals involved in the postgame situation and a related matter during the game that night have been subsequently banned from attending games in the arena. If additional information becomes available related to the postgame situation, the league office will conduct a further review.”
The Grizzlies worked with the NBA in its investigation process and are “abiding by its findings.”
Noticeably, the game between the Pacers and Grizzlies on Jan. 29 got quite heated, in which Morant’s father, Tee, and one of Morant’s friends (who was asked to leave) began to smack talk a few of the Pacers players.