Ja Morant loves his finger-gun gestures and doesn’t mind the criticism that comes with it. After all, as he said back in April, “I’m kind of used to it. I was pretty much a villain for two years now.” The NBA star mimicking shooting a gun with his finger, or sometimes throwing a grenade, has become commonly associated with the point, and even channels like ‘Riot Comedy’ make fun of that. However, the gesture has also put him in trouble with the NBA in the form of fines and investigations. Punishments of a similar nature are what might be awaiting Satou Sabally now.

As Game 2 of the Semi-Finals series between the Phoenix Mercury and the Minnesota Lynx was underway, a moment occurred as Minnesota led by 68-61 with 5:20 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. Satou Sabally, who was being guarded by Napheesa Collier, made use of an opening to shoot the ball from afar and score 3 points. As she started heading back to the other side of the court, she high-fived a teammate and then immediately did Ja Morant’s ‘finger-gun’ gesture to a spectator who had gotten up from his courtside seat. The fan visibly looked taken aback, but also put on a smile as Sabally kept walking away.

Ja Morant did his recent ‘finger-gun’ gesture during a game against the Miami Heat back in April. The incident occurred after the Memphis Grizzlies star made a 25-foot 3-pointer with 7:51 left in the 1st quarter. Morant ran back on defense and had his right arm fully extended while his left hand did a gun pose. The NBA had already investigated Morant earlier in the same week after he and the Golden State Warriors‘ Buddy Hield used finger-gun motions towards each other. After another investigation, the NBA fined Morant $75,000.

As of now, there haven’t been many reported incidents of WNBA players being fined for gestures. However, it was only a few days ago when Caitlin Clark was fined $200 for writing “Refs couldn’t stop us” on Instagram. Before that, her teammate, Sophie Cunningham, was fined $500 for posting a TikTok about “some officials”. Given this, there is no saying the route the WNBA can take in punishing Satou Sabally over the gesture. Given the pay disparity between the NBA and the WNBA players, a fine might not reach as high as $75,000. However, it can be enough to send a message.

Satou Sabally imitating the gesture was a sign of just how hyped the player was. Why shouldn’t she be? After all, she delivered her best performance of the playoffs to give the Phoenix Mercury a fighting chance.

Satou Sabally Maybe Got Motivation For 24-Point Performance From Phoenix Mercury Head Coach’s ‘Heat’

Satou Sabally concluded her 38 minutes on the court during Game 2 by scoring 24 points, along with 9 rebounds and 1 assist, through 9-22 (40.9%) field goals, 5-11 (45.5%) 3-pointers, and 1-1 (100.0%) free throw. 11 of those 24 points were scored in the 4th quarter itself. As it turns out, Sabally might not have gone out and undertaken that scoring feat if the Phoenix Mercury head coach hadn’t given an extra dose of motivation.

In the aftermath of the Phoenix Mercury’s 89-83 win, Sami Whitcomb, Alyssa Thomas, and Satou Sabally participated in a presser. The first question asked of the trio was whether there was a point in that second half where the players felt like they had control of this game. Sabally replied, “I felt that way at halftime once Nate really gave us some heat.” Furthermore, she added, “Um, we’re confident. We’re confident in us, and we’ve been battling all season long. So, you can’t give up a basketball game if you’re down by whatever. And I believed at halftime, and that’s what we did.”

When asked by the reporter if Nate Tibbetts gave some ‘huge heat’, Sami Whitcomb replied, “It was appropriate”.

At one point in the game, the Phoenix Mercury were trailing by a whopping 20 points! After the score was 59-39 in the Lynx’s favor, with 5:45 left in the 3rd quarter, Sabally initiated the scoring streak by making a deep 3-pointer. After Courtney Williams scored on a driving layup to take the lead up 77-72, Sabally put a putback to cut the lead to 3 points.

We don’t know what Nate Tibbetts told his players. However, it hyped Sabally enough to go on a scoring spree and, maybe, even put out the ‘finger-gun’ gesture. Now, it remains to be seen whether the WNBA star ends up suffering any similar consequences, like Ja Morant did, for the gesture.