Ja Morant is struggling to learn from his mistakes. An innocent celebration started it off. He raised his hands and made a gun motion. However, with his prior history, the NBA did send a warning before he faced the Miami Heat. The “celebrations were not intended to be violent in nature, but inappropriate and should refrain,” the warning read.

It seems the Memphis Grizzlies talisman didn’t consider it a warning to have strong grounds. So in the first quarter against the Miami Heat, Morant hit a three and ran back doing the same celebration. This was merely hours after the NBA initially warned the Memphis superstar. And because he took it lightly, the league decided to use punitive measures to instill their message.

According to Shams Charania, the NBA has levied a $75,000 fine on Ja Morant for his celebration. It was inevitable at this point. The league tried to caution the 25-year-old. However, he fell back into his own trap, defying the warning. The repeated offense left the league with no choice but to hit the player where it hurts.

For context, Morant has suffered a greater punishment for his history with firearms in the past. Notably, the NBA penalized him with a 25-game suspension before the 2023-24 season for brandishing a firearm on his social media. Just a few months before it, he was suspended for eight games for the same reason.

In hindsight, Ja Morant might be considered lucky for not being suspended. It would have been a costly punishment considering the Grizzlies are in dire need of ending the regular season successfully to make the postseason. At the same time, a suspension for a celebration would also have been a hefty punishment to begin with.

Morant might not mind the fine. Although it is a considerable sum, the Grizzlies star came up clutch against the Heat. Aside from 27 second-half points, he hit the buzzer-beater to win a vital game for Memphis. However, the question is are monetary fines enough?

Should the NBA do more?

The NBA levying a fine on Ja Morant does set a precedent. It discourages other players to follow suit. Notably, even the Warriors’ Buddy Hield was warned alongside Morant. But is there something more the NBA can do? Can Adam Silver put a stop to the players going against the league’s warnings?

According to former NBA star and ESPN analyst Jay Williams, they need to take stronger action.

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After the Grizzlies star ignored the NBA’s warning, Williams took to Twitter. He wrote, “If gun gestures cross the line—draw the line. Ban them. Full stop. Set the rule,”. He was of the same views as the NBA on one thing. “Ja Morant made mistakes & needs to be accountable. Throwing it in the NBA’s face is wrong & should be met with a penalty after a warning the night before,” Williams further wrote.

But he also blames Silver and the NBA for allowing Morant and other NBA stars to express themselves openly. “He walked into one the league allowed multiple times by other players. Now he’s paying for the silence that came before him,” Williams wrote.

In honesty, tracking celebrations is a tedious job, especially for such a high-profile league. Tracking so many players is extremely hard. Banning the celebration now that an example has been set could help. However, it still doesn’t restrict the players from doing it unless there’s a suspension for going against the ban.

For now, though ,a hefty fine might be the best way to deal with it.