Oddsmakers Give Ja Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies 5% Chance To Win In 2024

NBA star Ja Morant again flashed an apparent handgun in a social media post that went viral in mid-May. Just days later, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league was investigating the incident.

Morant, suspended for eight games in March for a similar incident, recently missed out on the All-NBA distinction, which will cost him a reported $39 million in salary. Now, the point guard could face further league punishment for the Instagram Live post in May. Just hours after the now-deleted video surfaced, the Grizzlies announced that Morant was indefinitely suspended from official team activities.

It remained unclear when and where the most recent video of Morant allegedly holding a gun was filmed.

About a week after the most recent incident, Morant issued a short statement to the media: “I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morant said. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”

Memphis Grizzlies 2024 NBA Odds

Morant and his Memphis teammates were eliminated from the 2023 NBA Playoffs in the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers went on to defeat the Golden State Warriors in the conference semifinals. As of writing, the Lakers were down 0-3 to the Denver Nuggets in the conference finals.

Despite the 2023 playoffs still underway, NBA futures for the 2023-24 season were posted in May by various online sportsbooks. Over at DraftKings Sportsbook, the Grizzlies opened at +1900 odds to win the championship in 2024. That equates to an implied probability of just 5%. The Grizzlies had the 10th-longest odds in the league.

That’s not very good for a team that went 51-31 in the 2022-23 regular season and finished just two games behind first place in the NBA’s Western Conference. Clearly, oddsmakers are pricing in Morant missing significant time to start the upcoming season. Still, the odds imply that the Grizzlies will make the playoffs.

While +1900 are relatively long odds for a team that finished second in the West, it’s actually slightly better than what the Grizzlies opened at for the 2022-23 season. They were +2000.

Based on commentary from the NBA world, it appears unlikely Morant will miss the entire season. However, a half-season suspension isn’t out of the question. The NBA most likely will make a decision sometime after the 2023 playoffs conclude.

According to NBA.com, the Grizzlies had a 5-3 record without Morant during his first suspension. He first took time away from basketball on March 4, “hours after he live-streamed himself on Instagram displaying a gun at a strip club in Colorado following a game against the Denver Nuggets.”

A league investigation determined that Morant was “holding a firearm in an intoxicated state.” However, the NBA didn’t prove the gun was owned by Morant “or was displayed by him beyond a brief period.” The NBA also didn’t find that Morant had the gun with him on the team’s flight to Denver or that he possessed the gun in any NBA facility, which would have resulted in a more significant suspension. Police in Colorado didn’t charge Morant over the incident.