“I Don’t Even Like IG (Instagram) No More Man. IG Changed My Life’: NBA Star Ja Morant Has Given Up Flexing On The Gram to Do Some Reflecting On Twitch
People know that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is a franchise talent, capable of carrying a significant load. His impulsiveness and desire to chase clicks on social media instead of MVPs and rings was a question, but Ja seems to finally understand the error of his ways and is locked in on rising in the Western Conference. Putting away childish things…Well, almost.
Ja Morant Opens Up To Fans On Twitch Stream About His Past
Ja went live on his Twitch channel and took time to interact with fans as the season approaches, and answer some questions in the chat. He’s been on the low lately after dominating the NBA headlines the prior two seasons for all the wrong reasons. While his young contemporaries are winning hardware and competing for face of the league.
The topic of Instagram came up, and Morant gave his opinion. “I don’t even like IG (Instagram) no more man. IG changed my life,” said the guard, before moving onto other topics of conversation.
Ja Morant Says His Instagram Posts Flashing Weapons In 2023 Changed His Life
Morant’s NBA legacy was flipped upside down after a series of Instagram posts he made during the 2023 NBA season that damaged his brand and ultimately led to him being suspended from team activities with the Grizzlies. It was an unprecedented occurence for a star of his magitude and the first real example of how social media can seriously affect a young athlete’s life.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant after he infamously flashed a gun on an Instagram Live while at a nightclub that he bought out for himself and a few exotic dancers. He ended up missing eight critical games during that hiatus. Morant agreed to go to a counseling facility in Florida, but he wasn’t graspiong the magnitude of his actions and how poorly it reflected on the brand the NBA wants to promote. The days of Allen Iverson are long gone in the NBA. The league, as it moves closer towards European expansion, doesn’t want any association with activities or images like that.
Just a few months later, however, he did another Instagram Live where he displayed another firearm, while riding in a car with his friend. This second unfathomable violation led to a stricter suspension of 25 games, which dripped into the 2023-24 NBA season. Morant hasn’t been suspended since then but he also hasn’t reclaimed the stature he had as an up-and-coming tastemaker in NBA culture. He’s been out of the way and his team isn’t performing at an elite level.
Social Media Excited To See Ja Morant ‘Happy‘: No More Instagram
Social media reacted to Morant’s comment and laughter on his Twitch stream, which was otherwise boring in nature.
Morant says he’s since left that IG world behind. His Instagram page has 9.6M followers and it’s mellow. He has pictures of himself and his basketball life and he is smiling and looks happy in most of them.
“Ja happy again,” said one Memphis Grizzlies fan on X. “We winning the chip fasho.”
“It didn’t though,” said one fan dismissing the idea that Morant’s suspensions have hurt his career. “the injuries past 2 years have been the real issue.”
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant says Instagram has helped derail his path to stardom and he’s done flexing for the gram. Some fans say it is moreso the injuries, as the 25-year-old star has only played 59 games in the past two seasons. (Getty Images)
Some fans raged against the NBA Player’s Union for not protecting Ja from losing millions of dollars in victimless activities because it didn’t look good for NBA’s brand.
Added another Ja Morant fan: “Imagine having something change your life costing you MILLIONS of dollars, and there wasn’t a single victim…not a single one. for the players’ union to allow Ja to go through that shows how WEAK they were (leadership) two years ago.
Ja Morant Had Several Off The Court Legal Situations
There was a moment when Morant was caught up in lawsuits and accusations of beating kids up at a mall and in his backyard. His “entourage” was accused of some thug activity towards the Pacers organization after a game. Several acquaintances of Morant allegedly “aggressively confronted” members of the Indiana Pacers staff after their game at the FedExForum in February of 2023.
The group, then allegedly pointed an infared laser on the Pacers staff from a slow-moving SUV. Morant was reportedly in the SUV, and the Pacers staff and additional security believed the laser was attached to a gun — though it’s unclear who was controlling it.
Ja Morant Has His Work Cut Out In The Wild Western Conference With Revamped Team, New Coach
NBA star Ja Morant has played 59 games in the last two seasons for the Memphis Grizzlies. While his basketball prowess has never been questioned, his overall growth has been stunted by injuries, suspensions and poor decisions driven by a lack of immaturity at times. Now 25 years of age, the All-Star knows this a make or break year for himself and his franchise. Last season, they got 50 games from Ja, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
With all of the drama behind him, and his overzealous dad Tee Morant learning how to stay in his seat, Morant enters the season with a new head coach after promoting interim Tuomas Iisalo and a revamped roster. Now Jaren Jackson Jr. and Morant are the heads of the snake.
The most notable loss was slick-shooting guard Desmond Bane, who was dealt in a blockbuster deal to the Orlando Magic. Former Cleveland guard Ty Jerome is expected to help fill that void and improvement is expected from second-year talents Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells. Ja seems to be at peace and this season he will have to be invested mentally and physically for his team to compete on a nightly basis for big stakes. they arent the most talented bunch, so he will have to drag them to wherever it is he really wants to go.
