Suspensions have been an unfortunate recurring theme at points in Ja Morant's career, and he just earned himself another one.
The only difference is that this time around, the Grizzlies issued the suspension.
What was Ja Morant suspended for?
On Saturday afternoon, the Grizzlies PR team announced, "The Memphis Grizzlies have suspended Ja Morant for one game for conduct detrimental to the team."
The statement referred to postgame comments that the Grizzlies' star player made after the team's 112-117 loss to the Lakers on Friday.
MORE:What did LaMelo Ball do? Hornets guard fined $35,000 for obscene gesture
When asked by a reporter what went wrong, Morant answered, "Go ask the coaching staff."
He was then told by a reporter that he didn't seem to have the game energy in the game as he would have any other night, and he proceeded to answer that comment similarly to the previous question.
Morant continued to direct the reporters to ask the coaching staff their questions, but was then asked, "What could have been done differently, other than asking the coaching staff?" and he answered, "According to them, probably don't play me, honestly, that was basically the message after...It's cool."
The combination of answers was viewed by the team as enough to issue a suspension after the game, with NBA insider Shams Charania wording it as: "Suspension comes as a result of Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo challenging Morant's leadership and effort in a postgame exchange after loss to the Lakers on Friday night -- to which Morant responded in a tone deemed inappropriate, sources said."
Morant played just under 31 minutes in the loss to the Lakers, with 8 points on 3/14 shooting from the field, 1 rebound and 7 assists.
Morant was a -13 on the floor in the second half after being a +9 in the first half.
He will be suspended for Sunday's game against the Raptors in Toronto.
More NBA articles: