Ja Morant’s friend charged over incident with teenager at Grizzlies star’s home

Feb 2, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts after a play during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Ja Morant has been involved in a number of troubling off-court incidents over the past year, and one of them was an alleged physical altercation involving a teenager at the Memphis Grizzlies star’s home. That incident has led to an arrest warrant being issued for a friend of Morant.

On Monday, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in Memphis issued an arrest warrant for Davonte Pack on a charge of misdemeanor assault with intent to do bodily harm.

“The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant for the arrest of Davonte Pack, who has been charged with simple assault in relation to the July 2022 altercation involving Mr. Pack, Memphis Grizzlies basketball player Ja Morant, and a juvenile basketball player at Mr. Morant’s residence in Eads,” the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement, via Lucas Finton of The Commercial Appeal. “The SCSO consulted with the SCDAG before obtaining the warrant.”

Morant and Pack — Morant’s longtime friend — were accused of attacking a teenager named Joshua Holloway during a pickup basketball game at Morant’s home last July. According to a police report, Holloway said Morant threw a ball hard at his chest while Holloway was attempting to check it in during the game. When the 17-year-old did the same to Morant, the ball allegedly hit Morant in the face, with the boy claiming it was an accident. Morant allegedly responded by asking a friend “Do I do it to him?” and then punched the boy in the face.

Holloway claimed Morant and Pack hit him several times. He said Morant then went into the house and returned with a gun. You can read more of the alleged details here.

Holloway, now 18, filed a lawsuit over the incident in September. Morant responded with a countersuit claiming he could have suffered a career-ending injury when Holloway hit him in the head with the basketball. Morant also claimed the teenager lied about some of the details.

No criminal charges have been filed against Morant.

Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA after he waved a gun around in two separate social media posts just months apart.