Ja Morant suspension, explained: Grizzlies star to miss time for 'conduct detrimental to the team'

The Memphis Grizzlies are off to a 3-3 start to the 2025-26 season, their first full campaign since firing Taylor Jenkins in 2024-25 and then trading guard Desmond Bane in the offseason.

Plenty is different for Memphis this season, but one essential presence remains for the team's future: star guard Ja Morant. The 26-year-old, now in his seventh season, remains one of the NBA's best players when healthy and aggressive.

However, Morant has also been the center of off-the-court issues before — and that continued early in the 2025-26 season, when the Grizzlies announced a brief suspension for Morant.

Why was Morant suspended by the Grizzlies? Here's the background on why Memphis decided to sideline its guard for "conduct detrimental to the team."

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Why is Ja Morant suspended?

On Saturday, the Grizzlies announced they would be suspending Morant for "conduct detrimental to the team."

The night prior, the Grizzlies faced the Los Angeles Lakers, which resulted in a 117-112 loss as Morant totaled just eight points on 3-14 shooting from the floor, along with his seven assists, in 31 minutes. 

Postgame, Morant was asked what went wrong in his and the team's performance.

"Go ask the coaching staff," Morant said.

Again, when asked if he had lower energy in the game than usual, Morant said, "Go ask the coaching staff why."

The Grizzlies are in their first full season under head coach Tuomas Iisalo, who was originally named the interim head coach in 2024-25 when Taylor Jenkins was fired. Iisalo's interim tag was removed in May. 

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Morant was suspended by the team "as a result of Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo challenging Morant's leadership and effort in a postgame exchange" after the loss to the Lakers. In response to Iisalo, Morant reportedly "responded in a tone deemed inappropriate."

In the aftermath of Friday's Lakers win over Memphis, Amazon analyst Blake Griffin, a recent NBA player, was among those to question Morant’s effort in the game.

"For a guy who's making forty million dollars and needs to be the leader of this team, I just don't love it," Griffin said. "That, to me, is a very bad sign."

Blake Griffin calls out Ja Morant's not playing hard or being engaged 👀 pic.twitter.com/EMbIoiE8pA

Morant, who has spent his full career in Memphis, is averaging 20.8 points and 6.7 assists through six games so far this season. He has two additional seasons remaining on the five-year, $197.2 million contract he signed with the Grizzlies in 2023. 

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How long is Ja Morant suspended?

Morant will be suspended one game, the Grizzlies announced. 

That means Memphis will be without its starting point guard for Sunday's road matchup against the Toronto Raptors. Morant would then be eligible to return for Monday's home game against the Detroit Pistons. 

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Previous Ja Morant suspensions

This is not the first time in Morant's NBA career that he has been suspended.

In March 2023, the NBA announced an eight-game suspension for Morant after an investigation into the Grizzlies star displaying a weapon while on Instagram Live. Morant released a statement saying he would be leaving the team for an "indefinite amount of time," deactivating his social media accounts, and reportedly meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

Morant's suspension from the NBA was eight games in total, but it included six games he had already missed as a result of his leave from the Grizzlies.

In May 2023, Morant was suspended from team activities by the Grizzlies for another incident in which he flashed a gun on Instagram Live. Silver said he was "shocked" by Morant's actions — and for the second time in months, the NBA announced a suspension for the guard, this time for 25 games, provided that he fulfilled a league-sponsored program.

Morant missed the start of the 2023-24 season due to his second NBA suspension. He returned in December.

Here's a look at Morant's suspension history, by either the NBA or the Grizzlies: