Grizzlies star Ja Morant facing gun and assault accusations

An NBA star is facing some truly worrying accusations after two separate incidents were recently brought to light.

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – FEBRUARY 28: Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies reacts during the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers at FedExForum on February 28, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Justin Ford / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The worrying accusations surrounding Ja Morant are growing.

In separate incidents reported to police last summer, the Memphis Grizzlies star allegedly quarrelled with a security guard in a mall parking lot and displayed a gun to a teen he had punched in the head during a dispute at his home.

The head of security at a Memphis mall told police Morant “threatened” him during a parking lot altercation during the summer, according to records obtained by the Washington Post.

He also told officers a member of Morant’s group shoved him in the head.

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No arrests were made in the altercation.

In a separate incident four days later, Morant was accused of punching a 17-year-old boy in the head repeatedly during a pick-up game at the 23-year-old’s house.

Morant and a friend hit the teen hard enough to send him to the ground and left him with a “large knot” on the side of his head, according to deputies who observed the injuries.

The boy told detectives Morant went into his house and re-emerged with his hand on a gun visible in the waistband of his pants.

Morant told police the teen was the aggressor in the incident, throwing a ball at his head and stepping toward him, and that he had acted in self-defence.

Ja Morant was the 2nd overall pick in 2019 after going viral in high school for his dunking ability. (Photo by Justin Ford / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

“I swung first,” the NBA star told detective, adding “The ball was to me the first hit.”

Morant also told officers the teen — a top basketball prospect in the area — left his home shouting, “I’m gonna come back and light this place up like fireworks.”

Morant later filed a police report about the boy’s comment, saying his family had been threatened.

Shelby County prosectors declined to file charges due to a lack of evidence, a spokesperson told the Washington Post.

The teen, however, is suing Morant, according to a January TMZ report.

Neither incident was publicised at the time it occurred.

They are the latest revelations of trouble surrounding the No. 2-overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and a two-time All-Star, who has been at the center of on- and off-the-court issues recently.

Not great, Ja. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP

On Jan. 20, Morant’s father, Tee, got into an altercation with Fox Sports host and ex-NFLer Shannon Sharpe that spilled onto the court at halftime of a game against the Lakers.

In early February, the NBA investigated allegations by the Pacers that Morant’s entourage “aggressively confronted” members of their travelling party and pointed a red laser at them, possibly attached to a gun.

Morant later confirmed that his friend, Davante Pack, was banned from Memphis’ FedExForum following the laser incident.

The Grizzlies enter Wednesday as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference at 37-23, though they’ve struggled in recent weeks, losing eight of nine at one point.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Grizzlies star Ja Morant facing gun and assault accusations