Ja Morant has a new celebration locked and loaded for the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Grizzlies will play the Warriors in the first round of the tournament on Friday, and Morant will pretend to toss a grenade into the crowd when he makes a three-pointer. The gesture originated last week when Memphis played the Hornets and has been the talk of the NBA ever since.
Morant has a history of being disciplined by the league for incidents with weapons involved, real or pretend, but so far, the NBA has not taken any disciplinary action against the All-Star guard for this new celebration. If Memphis advances to the next round of the tournament, it appears NBA fans are going to be seeing it even more.
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Here's what to know about Ja Morant's grenade celebration.
Ja Morant grenade celebration
Morant first pulled out his new celebration in a game against the Hornets on April 8. After he made a three-pointer, he pretended to pull a pin out of a grenade with his teeth, tossed it into the crowd, and then covered his ears. Morant did the celebration again when he hit a three against the Timberwolves two nights later.
Ja Morant with ANOTHER grenade celebration🤣pic.twitter.com/TMcE6Kj8M7
— Zero Gravity (@zgsportsmedia) April 11, 2025
“It’s not what you think it is,” Morant said when asked about the celebration. “I’m gonna take my words, I’m gonna throw them out there, and I’mma block out the noise.”
Given the league has already fined him for a celebration that appears to mimic using a weapon, Morant also said, “That’s my celebration now until somebody else has a problem with it, and I’ll find another one.”
Ja Morant grenade celebration controversy
The reaction to Morant's new celebration has been mixed. His teammates seem to love it, especially if it means he is knocking down shots from beyond the arc, but Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley were critical of it last week on the "NBA on TNT."
"He has a history that maybe he should leave the celebrations where people might die alone," Smith said, referring to Morant's run-in with the league earlier this year.
Barkley added, "I know one person's happy right now. Taylor Jenkins ain't got to deal with this crap." Jenkins was fired by the Grizzlies on March 28.
Ja Morant celebration history
Morant's grenade celebration comes after he was fined $75,000 for twice pretending to shoot a gun to celebrate made three-pointers against the Heat on April 3. The NBA called his gesture "inappropriate" and stated that “Morant was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light.”
The league's action came on the heels of another gun-related incident with Morant. On April 1, in the final 20 seconds of a game against Golden State, he and Warriors guard Buddy Hield pretended to shoot at one another and were each assessed a technical foul.
The NBA has a history with Morant and weapons that dates back three seasons. In the 2022-23 season, he was suspended for multiple games after being seen with a gun in a club. The following summer, Morant was spotted on Instagram live holding a gun while in the car with a friend and was suspended for 25 games at the start of the 2023-2024 season.