Ja Morant 'Grateful' For Support From Memphis Crowd In First Game Back

[RealGM Wiretap]

Ja Morant played in his first game since receiving an eight-game suspension on Wednesday. Morant came off the bench and checked in with 3:05 left in the first quarter.

The Memphis Grizzlies' crowd cheered loudly for Morant when he brought the ball up the court for the first time and again after his first basket.

"It meant a lot, man," said Morant. "Obviously, I'm thankful and grateful for everybody who's been supporting me during this time. It definitely helped me a lot, definitely made me feel a little better. Eased everything that was going on. Felt good to be back. Super excited. Glad we was able to get the win."

Morant said he meditated before the game to attempt to calm his nerves. 

Via Tim MacMahon/ESPN

[Jeff Van Gully]

learn and grow, young man. sincerly hope this is a life turning point.

[IWishIWasHarden]

He needs a facemask. How convenient.

[CobraCommander]

learn and grow, young man. sincerly hope this is a life turning point.

Exactly- if he learns and doesn’t pretend to be AI going forward, he will be fine.

[NoStatsGuy]

everybody deserves the chance to redeem himself and i feel like ja is doing great. you love to see it. now turn the west upside down and create some chaos! cant wait to see him in the playoffs!

[MitchB3]

everybody deserves the chance to redeem himself and i feel like ja is doing great. you love to see it. now turn the west upside down and create some chaos! cant wait to see him in the playoffs!

I believe in seconds chances because we all mess up in life, however, the punishment was not severe enough, 8 games? I'm sorry but you can't have all these " alleged allegations" each more serious than the other, and LeBron, I mean the league can't just give you 8 games? So the precedent has been lowered.

[NoStatsGuy]

everybody deserves the chance to redeem himself and i feel like ja is doing great. you love to see it. now turn the west upside down and create some chaos! cant wait to see him in the playoffs!

I believe in seconds chances because we all mess up in life, however, the punishment was not severe enough, 8 games? I'm sorry but you can't have all these " alleged allegations" each more serious than the other, and LeBron, I mean the league can't just give you 8 games? So the precedent has been lowered.

thats a fair point. Worth to have a conversation about.

What other precedent are you referring to or consider when judging how many games Ja should've been out? If we talk about the infamous case of gilbert arenas, i think we should take into consideration, that arenas braught a gun into the lockerroom. i think thats quite the difference.

regarding the other allegations, like smacking the boy in the head, etc. thats a different conversation. Green suckerpunched his teammate. i mean he KO'd him and got no suspension at all. I understand what you are saying but i really dont see any other precedent, that would justify a whole season or something like 50-70 games or so. I personally am fine with 8 games, but i would also be fine with 15-20 games or something like that.

[MitchB3]

everybody deserves the chance to redeem himself and i feel like ja is doing great. you love to see it. now turn the west upside down and create some chaos! cant wait to see him in the playoffs!

I believe in seconds chances because we all mess up in life, however, the punishment was not severe enough, 8 games? I'm sorry but you can't have all these " alleged allegations" each more serious than the other, and LeBron, I mean the league can't just give you 8 games? So the precedent has been lowered.

thats a fair point. Worth to have a conversation about.

What other precedent are you referring to or consider when judging how many games Ja should've been out? If we talk about the infamous case of gilbert arenas, i think we should take into consideration, that arenas braught a gun into the lockerroom. i think thats quite the difference.

regarding the other allegations, like smacking the boy in the head, etc. thats a different conversation. Green suckerpunched his teammate. i mean he KO'd him and got no suspension at all. I understand what you are saying but i really dont see any other precedent, that would justify a whole season or something like 50-70 games or so. I personally am fine with 8 games, but i would also be fine with 15-20 games or something like that.

What Green did really damaged the Warriors all season long, and you can see it in the chemistry. As for Ja, his behavior was off the court. 8 games is a slap on the risk; I'm sorry but 50 games would have done been good. Doesn't matter if it was the Gilbert situation or this one, you can't have your people flashing an "allegedly" laser gun or whatever at someone from the opposing team; you also can't go out and beat up a 17-year-old and then go into your house and flash a gun. You definitely shouldn't be going on IG live flashing a gun either. Representation matters, he's one of the up-and-coming superstars of the league you can't do that. Giving him 8 games just tells him just don't get caught next time.

[NoStatsGuy]

I believe in seconds chances because we all mess up in life, however, the punishment was not severe enough, 8 games? I'm sorry but you can't have all these " alleged allegations" each more serious than the other, and LeBron, I mean the league can't just give you 8 games? So the precedent has been lowered.

thats a fair point. Worth to have a conversation about.

What other precedent are you referring to or consider when judging how many games Ja should've been out? If we talk about the infamous case of gilbert arenas, i think we should take into consideration, that arenas braught a gun into the lockerroom. i think thats quite the difference.

regarding the other allegations, like smacking the boy in the head, etc. thats a different conversation. Green suckerpunched his teammate. i mean he KO'd him and got no suspension at all. I understand what you are saying but i really dont see any other precedent, that would justify a whole season or something like 50-70 games or so. I personally am fine with 8 games, but i would also be fine with 15-20 games or something like that.

What Green did really damaged the Warriors all season long, and you can see it in the chemistry. As for Ja, his behavior was off the court. 8 games is a slap on the risk; I'm sorry but 50 games would have done been good. Doesn't matter if it was the Gilbert situation or this one, you can't have your people flashing an "allegedly" laser gun or whatever at someone from the opposing team; you also can't go out and beat up a 17-year-old and then go into your house and flash a gun. You definitely shouldn't be going on IG live flashing a gun either. Representation matters, he's one of the up-and-coming superstars of the league you can't do that. Giving him 8 games just tells him just don't get caught next time.

yup, i see your point. And i cant say i completely disagree. He should be held to a higher standard as an all nba player.

And unfortunately the last part of your post, is also advice he got from guys like Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, "dont snitch on yourself".

But if we look at it case by case, i think Ja handled this tremendously and since this is the 1st time he was acting up and was raised in a safe environment, he is not really that thug he was portraying. i have no reason to believe, that his interviews and statement are an act in the last couple weeks.