NBA pro Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies has apologized again after his second suspension within a short period of time and vowed to improve. "I know I've disappointed a lot of people who have supported me," Morant said in a statement released Tuesday evening (local time). "This is a journey, and I am aware that there is still a lot of work to be done. My words may not mean much at the moment, but I take full responsibility for my actions. I'm determined to keep working on myself."
For the second time in less than three months, the professional basketball player was seen in a stream with an object that looked like a weapon. The first time, the NBA suspended him for eight games in March, losing about 669,000 US dollars (currently about 616,000 euros) in salary. What happens now – the Grizzlies were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers – is unclear. The Grizzlies initially excluded Morant from all team activities.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver was shocked, the investigation of the renewed incident is ongoing. "He could have injured, maimed or killed himself or anyone else with such an act," Silver said on ESPN. Morant has an incredibly large fan base. "And my concern — and I thought he shared it with me — is that millions, if not tens of millions of kids around the world would see him as if he had done something that in some way celebrates the use of a firearm in this way." In the United States, shootings occur every day, and children die again and again in mass shootings.
The investigation into the second video is the NBA's third known investigation into misconduct by Morant, who is by far the highest-paid professional on the Grizzlies' roster and is expected to earn $194 million (currently about €178 million) over five years starting next season. He has contracts with Nike and Powerade, but the beverage company withdrew a commercial featuring Morant immediately after the March video.
Spurs likely to secure Wembanyama
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs will be the first team to select the NBA draft after the end of the season and are expected to have a new home for the exceptional talent Victor Wembanyama. This was the result of the draw for the order for the worst 14 teams of the last main round on Tuesday evening (local time) in Chicago. The 19-year-old Frenchman is considered the greatest talent since LeBron James joined the league 20 years ago. Some experts say Wembanyama, nicknamed Wemby, is already better than James was at the start of his NBA career.
Wembanyama watched the draw in Paris. "You get a team player. I will do everything I can to win as many games as possible. I want to win a ring as soon as possible. Be ready," he said on ESPN. "He's unique. He has the size, the skills, can dribble, he can throw. In the end, we've never seen it the way it is," national team captain Dennis Schröder told the German Press Agency before the draw.
The draft is on June 22. The teams in turn secure the rights to the registered junior players. The weakest teams of the previous season have the best chance of getting the first so-called picks. After the Spurs, it's the turn of the Charlotte Hornets. Third place went to the Portland Trail Blazers, fourth place to the Houston Rockets.
Lakers lose playoff game
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets won their home game against the Los Angeles Lakers under national team captain Schröder at the start of the Conference Finals. The number one seeded team around Nikola Jokic was 21 points ahead in the meantime, but still had to tremble at the end of the game in the 132:126 against the record champion from Los Angeles. Jokic, voted the league's most valuable player in each of the past two seasons, scored 34 points. For the Lakers, Anthony Davis was the best shooter with 40 points. Los Angeles star LeBron James scored 26 points and missed the equalizer with a three-point attempt with the score at 126-129 with 45 seconds remaining.
Schröder played again from the beginning and finished the game with 6 points and 5 assists, Austin Reaves, who may play for the German national team in the future, scored 23 points for the Lakers. "In the first half we were really good, we controlled the game, controlled everything," Jokic said on ESPN. "We lost that in the second half. They're a really good team."
In the best-of-seven series, a team needs four wins to advance to the NBA Finals and have a chance to win the title. The last time the two teams faced each other was in a conference final in 2020. At that time, the Lakers prevailed in the Corona bubble in Orlando and then won the 17th title in their history. In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics determine the other finalist. Game one in this series is on Thursday night.