NBA Suspends Ja Morant Eight Games Without Pay

The NBA has officially suspended Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant for eight games.

According to a statement by the league, Morant met with commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday to receive the suspension. He is eligible to return to action on March 20 against the Dallas Mavericks but is likely to need longer to ramp up. The Grizzlies – who have a slim one-game lead for 2nd-place in the West – will have 11 games left in the regular season at that point.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Morant has exited a treatment facility in Florida before flying to meet with Silver in New York.

The point guard has been away from the Grizzlies since an incident in Denver where he flashed a weapon at a nightclub on an Instagram Live. The league investigated the situation and said that they found no evidence the gun belong to Morant or that he possessed it in any NBA facilities. However, they did seemingly confirm that it was, in fact, a firearm that Morant was holding in the original video. Silver called Morant’s conduct “irresponsible, reckless, and potentially very dangerous.”