NBA's Adam Silver Responds to Report Ja Morant Was Holding Toy Gun in IG Video

The NBA is looking into whether Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was holding a toy gun in an Instagram Live video posted online in May.

The Breakfast Club's Claudia Jordan reported Monday that Morant's contention is the gun in the video wasn't real.

Appearing on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was "aware of course of these reports on social media about whether the gun was in fact a gun."

Silver added that the situation would nevertheless be troubling even if it wasn't a real firearm.

"It's something that I'm thinking a lot about because—again, I'm not going to get into the specifics of the investigation—but in fact if you are live-streaming something that to the world looks exactly like a gun in a frankly reckless manner, should it matter whether or not it's a real gun?" he said.

The NBA suspended Morant for eight games in March after he shared a video on social media in which he was holding a gun in a Denver-area nightclub. The two-time All-Star briefly sought counseling before returning to the court on March 22 against the Houston Rockets.

Months later, Morant found himself in hot water again for a similar reason.

Silver said on ESPN's NBA Countdown in the immediate aftermath he was "shocked" to see the video. Part of his surprise stemmed from the fact that he thought the 23-year-old came to understand the severity of his first infraction during their meeting in March.

The commissioner told reporters on June 1 he was prepared to make a decision about Morant but would wait until the NBA Finals concluded to officially announce his ruling. He also said the league had "uncovered a fair amount of additional information" during the course of the investigation.

The Grizzlies have already suspended Morant from team activities indefinitely.