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ESPN Staff Writer- Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
- Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
- Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM
The NBA is looking into Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant using his hands and arms to mimic shooting a gun toward the Golden State Warriors' bench late in Tuesday night's game between the Western Conference rivals, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
The league probe will also look into Warriors guard Buddy Hield's gesture ahead of Morant's finger-guns motions, sources said. League officials will conduct an investigation and talk to involved parties as soon as Wednesday, the sources said.
The incident occurred during a timeout with 20.1 seconds remaining in the Warriors' 134-125 road win over the Grizzlies.
As Morant walked toward the Grizzlies bench on the other side of the court, he formed imaginary guns with the fingers on both hands, pointing them toward the Warriors bench with his left arm fully extended. The referees issued double technical fouls to Morant and Hield.
Morant, 25, a two-time All-Star, has twice been suspended by the NBA due to brandishing a firearm on social media.
The first incident occurred in March 2023 during an Instagram live stream while Morant was partying at a suburban Denver nightclub after a loss to the Nuggets. The NBA issued an indefinite suspension that ended up spanning eight games.
Morant was suspended for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season for conduct detrimental to the league after he brandished a firearm during an Instagram live stream on his friend's account in May 2023.
The Grizzlies (44-32) have lost seven of eight games to slip to sixth place in the Western Conference standings. Memphis fired coach Taylor Jenkins on Friday.