10 times NBA stars flashed finger gun gestures and didn't face scrutiny ft. LeBron James & more

Memphis Grizzlies All-Star Ja Morant is in trouble with the NBA's leadership again, and it once again involves guns. No, he did not flash an actual gun, as he did on two different livestreams back in 2023. He missed 33 total games due to two suspensions for those incidents, the first for eight and the second for 25.

Morant has been fined $75,000 by the league after performing a finger gun gesture during the Grizzlies-Miami Heat game on Thursday. He chose to do that celebration even after receiving a warning from the league for doing it against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

Interestingly, Morant is not the only player to have done the "gun" celebration. Other players have done it in the past but they went unpunished. Here are some players who've performed this gesture without being scrutinized to such an extent.

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10 NBA players who've done the finger gun gesture but went unpunished

#1 Desmond Bane

Ja Morant's celebrations seem to have rubbed off on teammate Desmond Bane. In a game against the 76ers back in November, the Grizzlies' guard did the gesture after hitting a three off Caleb Martin, who did not seem to appreciate it.

The two got assessed double technicals for their mini-skirmish, but Bane received no further punishment for his gesture.

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#2 Joakim Noah

Like a lot of players in the league, former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah had one that was considered his signature. He would pretend to hold a pistol in each hand and act like he was firing them wildly when he did something worth celebrating.

There has never been any report of the ex-Chicago Bulls center being fined for doing this.

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#3 Mikal Bridges

Another player who has done the finger gun celebration is New York Knicks wingman Mikal Bridges. He often extends one hand at his own bench after hitting a 3-pointer and pretends like he's aiming a gun at them while using three fingers.

When he was still with the Brooklyn Nets, he explained that the origins of this celly came from baseball.

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#4 Scottie Barnes

Mikal Bridges' celebration has been used against him in a viral moment for the Toronto Raptors.

Back when Bridges was still with the Nets and were battling against the Toronto Raptors, All-Star forward Scottie Barnes hit a 3-pointer against them. Following the shot, Barnes looked for Bridges and then aimed his fingers at him in a fashion reminiscent of his own celly.

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#5 LeBron James

While it's not the signature move associated with him, four-time NBA MVP LeBron James himself has done the gun celly before.

At the peak of the Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers rivalry, James hit a 3-pointer over defensive stalwart Andre Iguodala. Following that, the former Cavs superstar pretended like he was loading a mag into a handgun before he racked the slide.

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#6 Dalton Knecht

LA Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht has also been seen doing the gun celebration. In fact, his was posted on his team's Instagram account.

This occurred during the Lakers' 120-108 victory against the Denver Nuggets on March 19. In the image, it seemed like Knecht was back-pedaling while pointing his finger guns at Aaron Gordon.

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#7 Brandin Podziemski

Buddy Hield may have been warned by the NBA for the gun gesture, but he has one teammate who didn't even get a warning.

Following the announcement that Morant had been fined, one fan brought attention to the fact that Podziemski has also performed this gesture.

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#8 Steph Curry

Speaking of Warriors players who've done the gun gesture, there was also a time when Steph Curry was seen doing it.

In fact, Curry seemed to be holding a larger caliber gun when he did his version of the gun celebration.

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#9 Russell Westbrook

During the early days of his NBA career, Russell Westbrook was known for doing a variation of the gun celebration.

After hitting a big shot, particularly a 3-pointer, he would blow out the imaginary smoke from his imaginary guns and place them in their imaginary holsters.

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#10 Kobe Bryant

The late Laker legend Kobe Bryant was also seen doing the gun celly at least once in his career.

Just like Westbrook, Bryant also performed a gesture that looked like he was holstering a handgun. However, he would later take the imaginary pistol out of the holster to blow out the smoke.