Ja Morant's hand-ren bullet celebration didn't sit well with Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith during the Grizzles-Timberwolves match on Thursday.
Memphis Guard adopted the on-court gesture after being fined $75,000 by the NBA last Friday for a previous Finger Guns celebration.
After hitting three pointers in the first quarter, Morant was celebrated by gestures tossing a hand-ren bullet, mimicking the process of pulling a pin from an explosive weapon, looking up at the crowd at the Memphis FedEx Forum with a loss of 141-125 to Timberwalbus.
While discussing the game at TNT's “Inside the NBA” halftime show, Berkley seemed tired while sending a message to 25-year-old Morant.
“He has history that he may not have done… Leave a celebration where people may die alone,” Smith said.
Barkley trained former Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins, who was fired for surprise before the playoffs began last month.
“I know that one person is happy right now… Taylor Jenkins doesn't have to deal with this crap,” Berkley said.
Jenkins, who signed a multi-year extension with Memphis in 2022, has been with the team since 2019 and is the Grizzlies winning coach.
“He knows what he's doing. “Draw that pin.”
Memphis' main scorer, Morant, pretended to throw it and covered his ears.
“That's my celebration right now. I can find another until someone else has a problem.” Morant said After Thursday's shot around.
Morant debuted the grenade celebration on Tuesday with Grizzles' 124-100 victory.
The second All-Star made the headline after making three pointers during a contest with the heat and warriors, then mimicking an imaginary gun.
Morant was fined for repeating the gesture after receiving a warning from the league.
However, it's not just NBA players who used finger gun celebrations.
In 2023, Morant was suspended twice in two separate incidents with actual guns.
The first penalty was an 8-game ban for appearing in livestream videos showing firearms while drunk at a Denver area nightclub.
The second was a 25-game ban after Morant posed with a firearm in the car during another livestream video.
A Western Conference showdown between the No. 7 Grizzlies (47-33) and No. 4 Nugget (48-32), who fired manager Michael Malone this week, will be held in Denver on Friday.
Both teams are fighting for playoff positions, with six teams owing 31-33 losses.
