Ja Morant is back on the court for the first time since March 3.
With the Memphis Grizzles hosting the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Tee Morant, Ja's father, was pictured sporting a hoodie reading "Redemption" on the front alongside his son's face. Tee also appeared to be on it as one of the people in Ja's direction:
Shortly after receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd prior to checking in for the first time off the bench, Morant returned to his usual ways: slamming poster dunks.
Morant's near month-long absence stemmed from an incident in early March in Colorado where he flashed a gun on an Instagram Live video, but police closed the investigation with no charges.
About a week after the investigation closed, the NBA suspended Morant for a further eight games, citing "irresponsible" behavior by the 23-year-old guard.
Golden State Warriors
The former No. 2 overall pick in 2019 had also entered a counseling program in Florida to seek help.
“I went there to counseling to learn how to manage stress,” Morant said after practice on Tuesday. “Cope with stress in a positive way, instead of ways I’ve tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes.”
Memphis currently is the No. 2 seed in the West, one spot above the Kings, and is hoping to chase the Nuggets for the top spot with just weeks left in the regular season.