Ja Morant isn’t doing himself any favors with NBA bosses with his series of controversial gestures.
But he appears to have made fans of Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki and TNT Sports reporter Taylor Rooks.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Morant was fined $75,000 after using a gun celebration twice last week.
“Morant was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light,” the league said in a statement.
“I’m kind of used to it,” Morant said after claiming he was a ‘villain.’
“I was pretty much a villain for two years now. Every little thing, if somebody can say something negative about me, it’s going to be out there. So, yeah. I don’t care no more.”
Morant holstered his celebration but instead of letting sleeping dogs lie, unveiled a new addition to his armory by pretending to lob a grenade into the crowd after scoring on the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.
Nowitzki and Rooks were in town to watch the Mavericks take on Luka Doncic‘s Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Cameras picked them out courtside and the TNT reporter performed the gun celebration before the NBA champion mimed throwing a grenade in reply.
Both wore beaming smiles as they posed for a selfie in the stands in the clip.
“Dirk was a great shooter himself,” one fan wrote on X alongside a throwback photo.
“Taylor Rooks and Dirk channeling their inner Morant. Internet officially broken,” joked another.
Morant drained a 3-pointer in the third quarter of the Grizzlies’ 124-100 win over the Hornets.
He then performed a routine which looked like pulling the pin from a grenade before throwing it.
The controversial star also covered his ears as he ran back down the court.
Fans were not happy with the updated celebration on social media.
“Instead of a gun sign, he’s tossing grenades, what’s with him and trying to be violent,” one wrote on X.
“Buddy gonna get suspended this time, Adam silver definitely sick of this dude,” a second commented.
NBA’s Greatest
Greatest NBA players in the world right now – from Luka Doncic to Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama
Best players in NBA history to never win a championship – James Harden and Carmelo Anthony to Allen Iverson and Karl Malone
10 richest owners in the NBA – family empires, media moguls and investment gurus
Michael Jordan’s top 10 scoring games – counting down MJ’s most extraordinary totals
“He’s in a war with the league, take a guess who’s gonna win,” another fan posted.
“How far are we gonna let this go on?” a fourth posted.
With Morant seemingly about to go at odds with the league again, it calls to mind his two suspensions in 2023.
His first suspension was an eight-game ban for the live streaming of a video in which he displayed a firearm while at a Denver-area nightclub.
The second was a 25-game ban after he posed with a firearm in a car during another live-streamed video, when the league said Morant “wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded.”
The Grizzlies are locked in a thrilling Western Conference playoff race — two wins off the third-placed Lakers, who eased past the Mavericks 112-97 thanks to 45 points from Doncic.
