The NBA had concluded its investigation regarding Ja Morant's most recent public infraction before the start of the NBA Finals. However, in an attempt to avoid overshadowing the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, Adam Silver and the league front office wanted to wait until after the Finals (and the celebratory parade) were concluded before announcing his punishment.
Well, the 2023 NBA Finals are now in the books, and as a result, we now know just how hard the NBA is striking down the hammer on Morant this time. Morant has been be suspended for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 NBA Season. In his official statement addressing the suspension, Silver had this to say about the matter:
"Ja Morant's decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Friday. "The potential for other young people to emulate Ja's conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated."
In response to his suspension, Morant also issued an apology to his fans and the entire NBA for his misconduct. His full apology can be viewed in the tweet below.
As you'll recall, this suspension was dulled out after an Instagram live video surfaced in mid-May that showed Morant flashing a gun. This happened just two months after Morant had been suspended by the league for eight games after a separate incident involving a gun. This incident also brought to light a myriad of other controversies involving Morant.
At that time, when Silver made his statement on the matter, he had been given Morant's assurance that something like this wouldn't happen again. However, that proved not to be the case, and because of that, Morant is receiving a much harsher penalty this time around.
Only seven player suspensions in NBA history have been longer than the one Morant got.
While the Memphis Grizzlies 2023-24 schedule has yet to be made official, last season, they didn't play their 26th game of the season until December 9th. So, look for early/mid-December to be around the time we see Morant on the court again.