National Basketball Association

NBA probed incident between Ja Morant's acquaintances, Indiana Pacers

Updated Feb. 5, 2023 7:01 p.m. ET

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According to a Sunday report in The Athletic, acquaintances of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant aggressively confronted members of the Indiana Pacers traveling party near the team’s bus in the loading area of FedEx Forum following a game between Indiana and Memphis on Jan. 29 in Memphis. 

Later, someone in a slow-moving SUV — which Morant was riding in — trained a red laser on Pacers players, the report said.

Two members of the Pacers' traveling party told The Athletic they didn't see who shined the laser and that they were unsure if it was attached to a gun. However, a Pacers security guard said it was "100 percent a gun."

Indiana alerted the NBA of the situation, and the league probed the matter. As part of a statement, league spokesperson Mike Bass said that they "could not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon" but that "certain individuals involved in the postgame situation and a related matter during the game that night have been subsequently banned from attending games in the arena."

The Memphis organization said it "complied completely with the league’s investigation and are abiding by its findings."

There were a handful of confrontations throughout the game, some including family members of the involved people. After the game, people approached and started yelling at members of the Pacers in the loading dock area.

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said that the matter was "addressed internally" on Sunday. Morant quoted the video on Twitter, expressing frustration about the entire situation.

Morant also posted a picture of himself with a hand on his cap on Instagram shortly after the story broke, suggesting that the story was false.

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Ja Morant

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