Ja Morant is set to make his return for the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets after an eight-game suspension, and NBA star Kyrie Irving has plenty of sympathy for the 23-year-old.
Morant was ordered to stay away from his team after posing with a firearm on Instagram Live while under the influence of alcohol in a Colorado nightclub earlier this month, prompting widespread criticism and accusations of a lack of maturity. Since being suspended, Morant – who returned to the Grizzlies' facility for practice on Monday – has attended counselling for his behaviour. He was courtside on Monday as his teammates beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-108 at FedExForum.
But Irving, who scored 28 points for the losing Mavs, is no stranger to media scrutiny and believes Morant has been harshly treated for his mistakes.
Irving missed games eight games himself earlier in the season after being suspended by former employers the Brooklyn Nets for the "harmful impact of his conduct" on social media after posting about a book and movie which promoted antisemitic ideas. The eight-time all-star also missed more than half of last season after refusing to have a COVID-19 vaccine.
The 30-year-old told The Athletic after the game he sees parallels between himself and Morant.
“I believe any hardship in life builds character,” he said. “When you’re dealing with particular hardships in the public eye, especially with the media being attracted to just keeping up with what we’re doing, or what’s the next kind of grab or story.
“I don’t want to assume anything by every media member, but that’s just the way it seems for me and my perspective, which is there was an overload of judgment on Ja. There was an overload of judgment on what I had going on, and there’s usually an overload of judgment from the public court of opinion.”
Morant's imminent return to action is big boost for Memphis (44-27), who sit second in the Western Conference with just 11 games left in the regular season. Teammate Dillon Brooks said the point guard has apologised to every member of the Grizzlies for his actions.
“He’s taking ownership of it, which is a great thing for his growth, for his basketball career, for everything,” Brooks said. “You’re going to see a different Ja out there, who’s consistent every single night and is going to give us the energy that we need to be a top team in the West.”
