Among the veteran sports personalities who have spoken out on the Ja Morant gun display incident was Shaquille O’Neal. While many tried looking on the ‘positive outcome’ of the incident, the Los Angeles Lakers legend mostly focused on Morant’s actions that led to the controversy. While discussing the matter in his latest podcast episode, the 4x NBA champion reminded the Memphis Grizzlies star of the reason he didn’t need a gun in the first place.

Ja Morant is currently under scrutiny due to the ‘stunt’ he pulled during an IG Live session. The 23-year-old NBA star was reportedly at a nightclub following the Grizzlies’ loss to the Denver Nuggets, where he went live on social media and pulled out a gun in front of the viewers. Shortly after that, Morant was suspended by the franchise for a minimum of two games.

Shaquille O’Neal delivers a few ‘facts’ to Ja Morant

In the latest episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal and his podcast co-hosts Nischelle Turner and Anthony Adams had an extensive chat regarding the whole gun controversy. As Shaq had previously said in an episode of Inside the NBA, he believed that what Ja Morant did was a bad choice and not a mistake.

Referring to his contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, the 15x NBA All-Star said, “Common sense will tell you ‘I don’t need to be having no gun, I’m $230,000,000 in. I don’t need to be having no gun, I’m a role model. I live in Memphis, you know how many people get shot in Memphis? Let me do the right thing.”

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Additionally, Shaq talked about the certain set of meetings that the franchises conduct to direct newly drafted players on what they can and cannot do. He then added, “My message to people is you can’t put yourself in position. When we get to this position that we fought so hard to get to, they are watching. Whoever they are, they are watching.”

Morant’s million-dollar deal with the Grizzlies

Ja Morant has been playing for the Memphis Grizzlies since he was selected by the franchise during the 2019 NBA Draft. The Grizzlies are one of the top contending teams this season having secured a position in among the top five teams in the Western Conference this season.

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In 2022, the NBA star guard signed a five-year contract extension with the Grizzlies that is worth $193 million. As per reports by ESPN, the amount is expected to increase up to a whopping $231 million if Morant lands in an All-NBA team.