Point guard Ja Morant, a controversial member of the Memphis Grizzlies, returned to action on Tuesday, and “The King” welcomed him back.
The star player for the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, commented on X to express his support for Jaromier Morant’s comeback following a 25-game suspension for displaying firearms on social media.
“Welcome back!!” James tweeted the number 12 emoji before mentioning that it was Morant’s jersey number. “Go be GREAT again!!”
As stipulated by his suspension terms, Morant has been allowed to travel and practice with the squad, participating in morning shoot-arounds. He hasn’t been allowed to enter an arena with the squad on game days, though.
Morant’s work ethic has been acknowledged by head coach Taylor Jenkins, even if he isn’t permitted to play.
NBA.com reports that Jenkins stated on Friday night, “Aside from not being able to play in the games, he’s been awesome.” “He has seized every chance to spend time with his comrades. He has been putting a lot of effort into the squad and spending time with his colleagues off the court.”
For the first time this season, Morant also talked with reporters this past Friday. He mentioned that he has been counting down the days until he and his teammates return to the floor for Tuesday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
He thought about his suspension too.
“I feel like it made me better in the end,” Morant said. “I believe that during that process, I discovered a few things about myself. Really enlightening. It changed my perspective on life in a way. The way I spend my days. The way I conduct myself.”
The No. 2 overall pick in 2019 and the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year, Jared Morant, was punished for a total of 33 games following two separate incidents in which he displayed a firearm on social media.
The first occurred when he was livestreaming from a Denver nightclub on Instagram, where he displayed the firearm for his audience to see. Two weeks later, while singing along to a song on his friend’s Instagram Live, Morant once more displayed the firearm.
Following the second occurrence, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced a more severe punishment and outlined the actions that Morant was required to perform during that period.
This past week, Silver and Morant had a talk, and according to the latter, everything went smoothly.
Morant is aware that his actions going forward will demonstrate that he has transformed as a player and a man.
“I can’t, you know, make nobody believe me outside of my actions,” Morant stated. “So me answering this question with just words probably won’t mean nothing to nobody.”
The Grizzlies, who started the season with a 6-19 record while holding the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, clearly need to get back on the court with Morant.
But in the NBA Playoffs’ opening round, James and the Lakers easily defeated them without Morant.
With an average of 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 8.1 assists in 61 games last season, Morant was a big reason Memphis was awarded a postseason berth.