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.