Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant takes stand for hourslong testimony in pickup game lawsuit

Just days before his return from a 25-game suspension, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant testified in a hearing for a civil case related to an incident during a pickup basketball game at Morant's house in July 2022.

Morant's attorneys argued that he acted in self-defense when he punched Joshua Holloway, a teenage basketball player, at the start of another pickup game. It was the first time Morant spoke comprehensively about the incident in public.

Morant's father, Tee Morant, also testified Monday and close friend, Davonte Pack, was scheduled to testify. Pack's testimony was ultimately not heard Monday, and will likely be called Tuesday.

Ja Morant was subpoenaed to testify in the weeks leading up to the hearing, but it was not clear at the time if he would take the stand. That was cleared up Friday during a scheduling hearing for the case when his attorney, Keenan Carter, said Morant would be present.

The hearings will take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Morant, who was suspended by the NBA in June for 25 games in relation to a video showing him brandishing a gun, is eligible to play beginning Dec. 19 in New Orleans. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said Friday he expects Morant to be "full go" for that game.

Follow along for live updates.

Live updates from Monday's court proceedings

Court adjourns for the day

5:00 p.m: Ja Morant steps down from the witness stand.

Chumney tells Morant to "Go play basketball." Morant says, "Still have a while" to a bit of laughter.

Proceedings will resume at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Ja Morant's cross examination begins

3:35 p.m: After a brief recess, Adelman starts her cross examination.

Adelman begins by asking if Morant is one of the most athletic, fastest and strongest players in the NBA. Morant denies that he's one of the strongest, but says that he's among the most athletic and fastest. Adelman asserts that Morant, as the Grizzlies point guard, is the team leader and a community leader. Morant agrees.

Morant agrees that he is "one of" the faces of the NBA's next generation. Adelman asks Morant if he wants to be a good role model for Memphis' youth, and Morant says he does.

"Your conduct and how you behave impacts your brand, it impacts your reputation?" Adelman asks. Morant says "yes."

Adelman is now asking about Morant's dad having Morant play with talented players so he could get better, and Morant said his dad was his "biggest hater" growing up. Morant also says he was not mentored by the people he played against growing up in South Carolina. Adelman says Morant should know he is a mentor figure to people he plays basketball with in Memphis and others in the city. Morant agreed.

Morant says he "rarely" has been hit with a basketball, and not in a check ball situation. Morant says he has not been hit by a basketball in the NBA. Adelman now asks him if getting hit by a ball is part of the risk of playing basketball, and Morant says you "get fouled with bodies and hands."

Morant says he can't remember if he has ever hit someone with a basketball when passing. Says he hasn't in the last "100 to 300 games." Adelman asks if he's ever missed catching a basketball, and Morant says he has.

"You've received hard passes from Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, haven't you?" Adelman asked.

"What is a hard pass?" Morant responds.

Adelman follows it up with a brief explanation and Morant says he has received hard passes from them.

Morant says he's never found Holloway to be aggressive or have attitude when playing at the Eads property prior to the incident.

"You want to teach these kids that are at your house, right?" Adelman asks. Morant says he does.

Adelman says she also wants to recreate the situation between Morant and Holloway, as Carter did earlier. Adelman is questioning Morant about his attorneys' position that Holloway used the basketball as a weapon. She asks if he believes the ball was used as a "lethal weapon" and Morant said "it hurt."

Now things start to get testy between Adelman and Morant. Adelman is asking if Morant was injured by the basketball, and he said he was "hit in the face with a basketball." The two began talking over one another as Adelman continued to push for an answer, and she ultimately asked if he was bruised. Morant said "it was over a year ago."

Adelman is asking about Morant's height and weight. Morant says he's listed at 6'2, and said he was about 170 lbs at the time of the incident in 2022. She asked if Morant knows how much Holloway weighed and how much Pack weighed. Morant said he does not know either, but that Pack weighed more. Carter objected to those questions, saying this hearing is about Morant's self defense immunity arguments, not Pack's involvement. After some discussion, Carter withdraws the objection.

Adelman is now asking about the MBNO (My Brothers No Others) brand. Adelman is asking when Morant gave one of the witnesses an MBNO necklace.

"Those aren't real diamonds in that necklace, right?" Adelman asks.

"Well, I am a millionaire," Morant says.

Morant says he pays Pack to be his assistant. He has also hired his dad to be chef and barber at the houses, he says.

Adelman is now recreating the incident. She has a different basketball than the one used in the first demonstration by Morant's lawyers. It's essentially walking through the same stages as with Carter and Morant's example from earlier. Adelman, while Morant is holding the ball, is asking who was in the game at what time. Morant, asking Adelman if she's ready, passes the ball after she laughs and nods.

They then did it a little faster, and Adelman says Morant "has got to tell the truth" while on the witness stand. Adelman is now tossing the ball at Morant, telling him to show where he was hit.

Now they did it a lot faster, and Adelman threw it much harder in the demonstration. Morant leaned out of the way but still caught the ball. Adelman says the basketball was gone, as was the threat. "But the harm was already done," Morant says.

Adelman asks Morant to punch her. Morant says "Nah, I'm alright." She says, "Show me how you punched him" and he holds his arm out. There was a brief back and forth between Morant and Adelman about how fast, and hard, Morant's punch was, but there was not a conclusive answer to either based on Morant's demonstration.

Adelman asked Morant about an altercation during an NBA game after Morant was fouled hard by another player. Carter objected to Adelman discussing an altercation other than the one at the house in Eads. Now there's another bench conversation. There were some technical problems with Zoom, and Morant was trying to tell Judge Chumney her microphone wasn't muted. "I have way too many Zoom calls," he said to a group of Memphis media members. Morant then leaned against the wall in front of media, and asked if sitting there was disrespectful. "This is my first time in court," he says with a smile.

Back to the cross examination, and Adelman asks Morant if there was anything he could have done besides punching Holloway. Morant says yes.

Adelman: "There is time here for you to make some choices, right?"

Morant: "That's why I asked him the question."

Adelman: "You would have had time to push him? You would have had time to tell him to leave your property?"

Morant agrees.

Adelman was going to read Mike Miller's testimony. But Carter objected, and Adelman withdraws.

Adelman is holding screenshots she says are messages between Morant and Alex Lomax, the former Memphis Tigers basketball player, and wants to introduce them as evidence. Carter objects, saying it's hearsay. Morant will take a look to authenticate these messages.

Morant says he couldn't remember them, but upon looking at them he said he remembers. The messages also include Pack and are from after the incident. Morant says he remembers Lomax texting him, but doesn't remember those specific messages.

After multiple objections to the texts being read into the record, Adelman moves on. It's still not exactly clear what was said in the messages.

Morant says he never feared Holloway before the incident, but doesn't say whether or not he feared him during or after the incident. Morant says he apologized to the people on the court, and that he was defending himself. Adelman asks if that was because he did something wrong, but Morant denied that, saying the apology was because the pickup games were over.

Adelman: "You would have this court believe that you feared Holloway would punch you?"

Morant: "Yes."

Adelman: "And that would hurt?"

Morant: "That's what a punch does."

Morant says the altercation lasted 10 seconds. Morant says Holloway threw the ball with one hand, denying that it was a chest pass. Adelman asked if Mike Miller, Alexander Ndon-Blue and Chip Brunt were "trustworthy." All three have been deposed under oath and called the throw that hit Morant in the head a chest pass.

Morant says he did not know if Holloway was injured during the altercation, and he did not check in with him afterwards to see if he was alright. He also says he does not know if Holloway had a head injury or went to the hospital.

Morant also says he has not apologized to Holloway. Adelman asked if he would apologize if Holloway were in the courtroom today.

"Probably not, I was protecting myself," Morant says.

Adelman asked if Morant has ever been accused of intimidating someone, and Carter objects. That leads to a bench meeting, and Adelman moves on.

Adelman rests her questioning. Carter is back for a re-direct.

"What did you think Joshua was about to do to you?" Carter asked.

"Punch me," Morant says.

Ja Morant takes the stand

1:50 p.m: Morant is sworn in to testify. Carter starts by asking Morant about some background with his family, and Morant says he has a close-knit family.

Carter asks Morant what his profession is.

"I play professional basketball for the Memphis Grizzlies," he says.

Carter goes over Morant's record while he was in college at Murray State and his history with basketball. Morant says he learned his skills by playing with his dad in the backyard when he was growing up.

"I grew up around basketball. It's pretty much something that's always been around," Morant says. "I pretty much fell in love with it, being around my dad."

Morant goes on to say that he didn't like it at first because it was hot outside, but his dad pushed him to be better and he fell in love with it from there. Morant describes his "hoop sessions" back home in South Carolina as "intense, competitive" but said they were a lot of fun. He says having people over in the backyard to play basketball during those years in South Carolina was what led him to still invite people to play at his home in Eads.

Morant is asked if there was anyone he wouldn't play with because of skill discrepancies.

"When I was younger, my dad told me that bad basketball results in injuries," Morant says.

Talking about Holloway, Morant says he was an "advanced" player with a high basketball IQ. He says he's seen Holloway at the house about five times. Morant says Holloway was a little shy at first, but that he began to open up after he showed Holloway the shoe closet and told him to pick a pair. He says he and Holloway laughed together.

"Once you get to know me, you know I like to joke a lot," he says.

Morant says he can't go play basketball in public spaces, saying he "can't even go grocery shopping."

Morant is talking about the atmosphere during pickup games at the house: "We have music playing, we have a cooler with water," he says. "It's good basketball and when you're done you get a meal."

Carter pulls out a basketball from under the table to demonstrate a check ball with Morant. It's a Memphis Grizzlies basketball. Morant tosses a chest pass to Carter, who tosses a chest pass back to Morant. Morant then lightly lobs it back to Carter, claps, and walks back to the stand.

Morant is now drawing out Xs on the photo of the basketball court to show where spectators were during the games. There were "easily" more than 10 games played that day, Morant says.

"Nobody got hit in the face the first 49 check balls?" Carter asks, citing an average of five check balls a game. "No, not once," Morant says.

Carter: "Do you remember if your shot was falling that day?"

Morant: "It was."

Carter: "That's always fun, isn't it?"

Morant: "Yeah, to me."

Morant says Holloway was competing well that day, and that he didn't have any reason to be upset. "But nobody likes losing," he says. The session was normal before the altercation, Morant says. Holloway was the "first pick for everybody," even when the teams shuffled, Morant says.

Morant says at his house in South Carolina the losing team would "do tires or run sprints," but that they haven't done it since moving to Memphis. "I'd probably look at them crazy too," Morant said of doing that with people who don't know the family well.

Morant is now talking about the incident, which he says was between games. Morant says Holloway set the ball at his feet.

"That's disrespectful," Morant said. "Setting the ball at your feet in a check ball situation is disrespectful."

Morant and Holloway were at the top of the three point line doing the check ball, Morant says. It was later in the evening and the temperature was cooling down, he says.

Morant says he rolled the ball to Holloway to properly check it, and bystanders were asking for the game to start. Holloway rolled it back to Morant, who then threw a chest pass at Holloway. Then Holloway "fired the ball" at Morant, who said the pass from Holloway was a one-handed throw that hit the left side of his face.

The throw caught Morant by surprise, he says Morant says there are many ways to apologize, including asking if the person hit was alright or slapping your own chest to say it's your fault. Morant said Holloway did none of these things.

Adelman objects to Carter asking if Holloway cared that Morant's mother was watching the ball hit Morant in the face. Chumney sustains the objection and asks for Carter to lay a better foundation for the questions.

"After hitting you in the face with the ball...did (Holloway) acknowledge your mom in any way, shape or form?" Carter asks. Morant says no.

Morant says he asked Holloway "What you on?" because Holloway was acting differently. Holloway, Morant said, did not respond to him, but said he pulled his pants up.

"Him pulling up his shorts, where I'm from, that's a fighting stance," Morant says, adding that Holloway took a step towards him.

Carter now has the basketball again to demonstrate the check ball. Morant says he threw a bounce pass, with backspin, to Holloway. Now they're demonstrating the incident, where Carter and Morant meet chest to chest — as Morant said Holloway did — adding that Morant thought Holloway was about to hit him.

"So I hit him first, to protect myself," Morant says.

Morant says Holloway took a few steps back after being punched by Morant, and then Holloway took some steps forward. Morant says he thought Holloway was going to hit him again. That's when Davonte Pack walked up and punched Holloway, and then grabbed Morant, pulling him towards center court and away from Holloway.

"When (Holloway) fell and then got back up, people started grabbing (Holloway) and pulling towards the gate," Morant said. That's when Jamie Morant and Mike Miller began walking Holloway to the car, Morant says.

Morant says Holloway had his fists balled, and turned sideways "one foot in front of the other, in a boxing stance."

"Can you think of any reason for a pass between two talented basketball players to be that off target?" Carter asks. Morant says no. Both Morant and Holloway are point guards, who "pass the ball" in their roles on the court, Morant says.

"I'm gonna light this place up like a firework show," Morant says he heard Holloway yell as he was walking away. "It sounded like guns to me," he says.

Carter is now done questioning Morant. Adelman will begin cross-examination at 3:25 p.m.

Court breaks for lunch; Ja Morant set to testify next

Ja Morant will testify when the court reconvenes at 1:45 p.m.

Tee Morant set to take the stand

11:20 a.m.: Tee Morant, Ja Morant's father, will be first to take the stand.

Morant is going over his life story, and Morant says he has two biological kids — Ja and his sister — but that some of the kids they would bring into their home would call him "pops." He is talking about building a court in his backyard in South Carolina — where there weren't any public courts — and that eventually the backyard basketball court would become the community court.

They've been hosting these basketball sessions since 2011, Morant says. He says Ja was originally going to move to Memphis alone, but told Tee, "Y'all are coming with me."

Morant says Ja's sister was the person who invited Holloway to the house and that Holloway had been over "maybe five or six" times before the altercation. He says anyone would have free access to the house, and that there were no problems with Holloway prior to the altercation.

Morant says, "He don't know how to cook" when asked why Ja comes to play basketball at Tee's house instead of his own even though both have basketball courts. A little bit of laughter broke out in the courtroom and Ja smiled and shook his head.

Morant is now talking about difference between pickup and regulation basketball. There are no referees in pickup games, and he says he does not allow Ja to call fouls at all. Morant also said he thinks pickup games are more intense and physical.

Carter is now shifting to the day of the incident in his questioning of Morant. He is naming off who he can remember playing in the game. Morant is now illustrating on an image of the basketball court where everyone was sitting during the incident. He says he was sitting next to Mike Miller when he wasn't cooking.

Morant says he saw either seven or eight games played, but that there were more. He said he went inside to start cooking when people looked fatigued from playing so much.

Morant said the games were "highly competitive" and that he tried to motivate the younger kids during the games, which he does often does. "For the most part I was talking to Josh and [Kyler Dandridge]...because Josh was about to go to Oak Hill and Oak Hill is highly competitive."

Tee Morant says Ja Morant and Holloway were guarding each other during the game.

"I think it was great competition," Morant says. "Of course both of them were barking at each other, talking trash, which is what you do."

Morant says Ja Morant started scoring a lot, but he encouraged Holloway to keep going at him. At some point, Holloway switched to start guarding someone else, but Tee Morant encouraged him to stay on Ja.

"Ja was just having his way because they were bickering back and forth," Morant says. "That goes to what I've always told Ja: When you're between those four lines, you can say what you want if you back it up."

After a discussion with Chumney and the attorneys, the schedule is going to be changed. Court is now breaking for lunch. Tee Morant will resume testifying tomorrow.

Opening statements continue with plaintiff

10:45 a.m.: Adelman begins her opening statement.

"I agree that this case is about lies," Adelman says, calling Ja's mental state — saying he believes he is allowed to break rules most people cannot — "Sportsfluenza."

"As a result, he is actually deprived of a valuable lesson and that lesson is that there are consequences for your actions," Adelman says. "Mr. Morant is hero worshipped, not just in this city...but throughout the world."

Adelman says Morant's ego is "engorged" and that he engages in "narcissistic behavior." Morant has been fairly stoic while Adelman has been on the attack during her opening statements. Keenan Carter, one of Morant's lawyers, has asked to approach amid the litany of ad hominem attacks on Morant from Adelman. Carter called it "totally inappropriate."

Morant's attorneys both appeared furious when approaching the bench. There was a brief conference with Judge Chumney and the attorneys, and now Adelman returns to her opening statement.

Adelman resumes: "Some athletes have learned that when they make a mistake they have a support network...around them that will help them fix their problems."

She says those institutions help cover up those mistakes. Adelman uses the term "sportsfluenza" again. Carter objects, but Chumney rules Adelman can continue.

"Mr. Perry has Holloway standing alone, and there's a reason he's standing alone," Adelman says, adding she has "pity" in her heart for Morant because he has the influence and affluence to affect change in Memphis.

"The sports culture that we're living in...has elevated athletes above the general population and these athletes are not being subjected to the same rules as everyone else," Adelman says.

Adelman is talking about the "hope" Morant inspired in the Memphis basketball scene when he was drafted No. 2 overall in 2019. She says he inspires youth in the city and adds that Morant is the "face of the next generation" of the NBA.

Adelman is now showing Morant highlights in court. She says the arm talent and strength from Morant's dunks is "the type of force that came at Holloway."

Adelman says Holloway idolized Morant, adding that Morant told the SCSO that Holloway was like his little brother. Morant was 6'3, 175 lbs and Holloway was 6'2, 160 lbs at the time of the incident, Adelman says.

Adelman calls the witnesses, and Morant's attorneys, the "Fix-it team."

"Everyone on 'Team Morant' is either family or part of the (My Brothers, No Others) team, or associates, or are gaining money or other resources from Morant," Adelman says. "There is no 'Team Holloway.'"

Holloway "lost all of his friends" during this situation, Adelman says. She says he wasn't frustrated or upset, but was just being competitive.

Now Adelman is demonstrating a check-ball in a pickup basketball game. She just tossed a chest pass to a sitting Carter. Adelman is tossing the ball between her hands as she explains that kicking the ball around is "disrespectful" during a check-ball. Adelman says Holloway was not squared up with his fists up by his face, but that he was grabbing the waistband of his shorts. Talking about the brief fight, Adelman says Holloway was "disoriented" because he had been punched by "two grown men."

She says Holloway telling police he was hit 10-12 times was not a lie because he was on the ground and surrounded by people who were at the house.

The recordings, which were ruled on earlier by Chumney but then the ruling was rescinded and is slated to be ruled on later, are going to come back up during Adelman's opening statements. These will be something to watch going forward, with Adelman alleging that the affidavits were manufactured by Morant's attorneys and signed by people who "don't know what they're signing."

"We're in this court. We're not on a basketball court," Adelman says. "In this court, we're all equal. Nobody's above the law."

Adelman says she feels confident that Morant cannot fairly say he was in imminent danger, and that he instead felt disrespected in front of family and friends and that Morant and Pack punched Holloway for it. "In what world is that ok?" she asked.

Morant scheduled to testify

10:30 a.m: Ja Morant, Tee Morant and Davonte Pack are all expected to speak today.

Opening statements underway

10:00 a.m.: Opening statements are underway. First up is Will Perry, one of Morant's attorneys. Perry says this case is about credibility. "This case is different because it turns on credibility...There are two versions of the story."

Perry says there are witnesses who agree with Morant's telling of the incident. "Mr. Morant's account of what happened...has not changed," Perry says. "Plaintiff's version is constantly evolving. Evidence will show that plaintiff told the sheriff's office one thing, said something else in the lawsuit and then amended it again in the lawsuit."

"This case is about lies," Perry said.

Perry, now drawing on differences between Holloway's story to SCSO and the lawsuit, says Holloways told SCSO he was knocked down by Morant and then hit multiple times by Morant and Pack, but then said Pack knocked him down and then Morant, Pack and Morant's sister hit Holloway while he was on the ground. The amended complaint changed that story again, Perry said.

"Credibility and consistency are therefore key to this case, your honor," Perry said.

Perry is now talking about Morant's background, including his NBA accolades and tradition of hosting pickup basketball games.

Perry says Holloway had played pickup games at Morant's home "4 or 5 times" before the incident in July 2022. Perry says Morant had gifted Holloway shoes in the past.

"Plaintiff's attitude was different," Perry says. "His energy was off. He played like he had a chip on his shoulder."

A key point of contention during the proceedings will be whether Holloway throwing the ball at Morant's face was intentional or not. Perry has the first example of this today, saying it was intentional and Morant asked, "What you on?" before Holloway "squared up."

"This case comes down to credibility. Mr. Morant's account of what happened...accords with everyone who saw it," Perry says. "Plaintiff tells a different, constantly evolving story. He stands alone."

9:50 a.m.: Attorneys have been conferring with Judge Chumney for the past five minutes after Chumney denied the release of the recordings. Not clear what the discussion is about, but Morant seems to be getting along well with Michael Joyner, one of the attorneys for the sheriff's office. They've been talking, smiling and laughing a bit si10nce the attorneys began conferring.

9:40 a.m.: Chumney denies the request for the recordings to be handed over. In Friday arguments, Adelman said the written affidavits that Butler Snow attorneys sent to SCSO differed substantially from phone call recordings that she reviewed of a few witnesses. Carter and Perry later said the recordings couldn't be sent because they're protected as work product. Without those recordings, Adelman has said she cannot thoroughly examine how the story has changed over time.

9:30 a.m.: The court is now ruling on recordings Butler Snow (the attorney group) used for affidavits that were sent to SCSO. Adelman received some of them, but the rest were filed as work product and not sent to Adelman. The recordings are of phone calls with witnesses.

Chumney asks if the records predated the lawsuit, which Keenan Carter said was taken in August. Chumney says there was notice of the lawsuit, and that there was mediation underway at that point. Adelman says she was unsure about a criminal investigation going on at the time.

Adelman said she was unaware of any mediation at the time, who says she was not representing Holloway at the time. Carter said Clement Pink, an attorney watching via Zoom, contacted Morant's lawyers about litigation.

9:25 a.m.: Ja Morant, Tee Morant and Davonte Pack are in the courtroom.

Ja Morant is shaking hands with SCSO attorneys now, and heading back to chambers with Keenan Carter and Will Perry.

9:20 a.m.: Adelman brought a basketball to court today. Could be used as a prop during the proceedings.

9:00 a.m.: Judge Carol Chumney is ruling on the prong of the self-defense statute that applies to this case now, which deals with deadly or excessive force being used. Chumney says she will "need to hear the proof" before ruling on that. The ruling will be used to determine if Morant was threatened with excessive force or deadly force in responding to Holloway throwing the basketball.

Chumney is also holding off on ruling whether recordings taken by Morant's lawyers for affidavits to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office are work product and if they should be handed over to Holloway attorney Rebecca Adelman's team. Adelman argued Friday that they should be handed over as evidence so she can thoroughly question witnesses.

Morant's lawyers Friday also wanted to make sure Holloway's age at the time of the incident, 17 years old, was not mentioned during this. Chumney denied that motion, along with one saying Holloway's injuries will be allowed to be part of testimony during this hearing.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant testifies in pickup game lawsuit