“We got the same circle,” Despite off-court troubles leading to 25-game suspension, Ja Morant hasn’t changed inner circle, says star’s father

Ja Morant's father expects the Memphis Grizzlies' superstar to quickly move past his disciplinary issues.

“We got the same circle,” Despite off-court troubles leading to 25-game suspension, Ja Morant hasn’t changed inner circle, says star’s father

JA Morant made an impressive return to the NBA recently. (Image via Barron's)

Memphis Grizzlies’ superstar Ja Morant saw a passionate defense being made of him by his father, Tee Morant. The 45-year-old showed up for an interview with SiriusXM where he was asked a range of questions about his son’s future. Morant recently made his return with a 34-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Tee claimed that while the NBA and the media had painted a particular picture of his son, Ja was in truth a typical family guy who did not deserve the kind of criticism that he had received. Tee believes that no matter where Ja finds himself in the future, he is going to ‘carry himself’ like a respectable guy. 

“Ja is going to be the typical guy, a family guy…[He’s] going to be an inspiration to a lot in South Carolina, Memphis, wherever he’s at. And he’s going to carry himself like a respectable guy. That's what it is and that's me talking for him because we have conversations. It's not like I'm an absent father saying something that I don't know."

Tee was then asked whether the recent controversies had led to a change in the type of company that Morant kept. However, his father refused, claiming that he was still hanging out with the same circle.

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“We got the same circle, we got the same circle”

Hence, while fans might be concerned, the fact is that Ja’s father believes he is more than ready to make a return to the league and ensure that such disciplinary issues are not repeated in the future. Whether the 24-year-old follows suit, is something which only time will tell, eventually.

Ja Morant makes NBA return after 25-game suspension

Ja has had to serve a 25-game suspension for his involvement in multiple Instagram videos in which he was seen sporting a handgun. The initial incident, which happened in March 2023, led to Morant being suspended for a total of 8 games. A similar incident then took place in May, leading to a 25-game suspension that saw him miss the early part of the Grizzlies season, this time around.

Ja Morant recently made his return to the NBA. (Image Via AP News)

Regardless, after having served his suspension, Morant has quickly returned to the mainstream NBA. In his two games thus far, he has combined for a total of 54 points, alongside 16 assists and 11 rebounds.

The player has seemingly looked close to his best despite a lengthy hiatus, despite not having yet hit his shooting form. Said to be the most obvious candidate to become the face of the NBA only recently, Morant still has some work to do before he can stake his claim, once again.

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