White & Gold royalty: Ja Morant makes season debut in dazzling $110 'Ja 1s'

After being suspended for 25 games due to his inappropriate actions this summer, Ja Morant is back on the hardwood playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. Morant made his season debut against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday for the 6-19 Grizzlies, who have struggled in his absence. They're 13th in the Western Conference.

Back on the hardwood, Ja Morant unveiled his Ja 1's new design featuring a simple yet elegant white and gold finish. While it's expected that Morant would wear his signature shoe, worth $110, what caught everyone off guard is that Nike is producing his shoes again despite being cut off last May. Many reckoned Morant could get the Kyrie Irving treatment.

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Looking back at why Ja Morant got suspended

Memphis Grizzlies v New Orleans Pelicans

The NBA suspended Ja Morant for the first 25 regular-season games this season after an Instagram Live video clip in May where Morant displayed a gun. The league used the formal wording "conduct detrimental to the league" in its suspension announcement.

Morant was already suspended in 2023 before his second suspension. The NBA found him to have engaged in "conduct detrimental to the league" and suspended him for eight games in March.

That was after it was alleged that Morant had displayed a gun on Instagram Live while inside a Colorado club. Following the ban, Morant enrolled in a Florida counseling program. He missed nine games in three weeks in March during the 2022–23 season.

Morant was permitted to travel and practice with the Memphis Grizzlies during his most recent suspension but was not allowed inside the arena for games.

Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal detailed on Sunday what Morant would do when the Grizzlies were playing: sending a lot of texts in group chats to his teammates and spending his extra free time watching G-League and high school basketball games.

Additionally, he gave testimony last week in a civil case in Shelby County Circuit Court about a lawsuit Joshua Holloway had filed. Following an incident in July 2022 during a casual basketball game at Morant's house, the teenager filed the case.

It was a wild and crazy summer for Ja Morant, and it's more than likely that he has missed throwing down dunks on opponents in the NBA. Hopefully, Morant has learned his lesson and will stay in the good books of the league.