Ja Morant Returned To The Court After Suspension And Promised 'To Be More Responsible'

Ja Morant is back on the court!

Following his eight-game suspension and two weeks in a counseling program in Florida, the Memphis Grizzlies star is back to his regularly scheduled life of balling. And a bonus for any Morant fans - his Instagram page is back, too!

After a string of trouble, including waving a gun during an Instagram Live while in a strip club in early March, concern for the road Morant, 23, was traveling had increased. The Instagram Live incident got Morant suspended for eight games and investigated by law enforcement and the NBA. To help make things right and change his path for the better, Morant entered a Florida counseling program to get help dealing with stress in the right ways.

The NBA star made his return to the court earlier this week and told reporters that he promises to "be more responsible" moving forward.

"Obviously, took that time to better myself, get in a better space mentally," Morant said to reporters according to CNN. "It's an ongoing process, a continued process for me. Obviously, I've been there for two weeks, but that doesn't mean I'm completely better. So that's an ongoing process for me that I've still been continuing since I've come out."

Morant insisted that alcohol was not the problem for him, and that the issue is more about managing stress. "I went (to Florida) to counseling to learn how to manage stress," he said. "Cope with stress in a positive way, instead of ways I've tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes."

Morant has apologized for what he's done that caused his suspension and the concern. His focus now is to "be more responsible."

"Obviously, I've made mistakes in the past that cause a lot of negative attention - not only to me but my family as well, my team, the organization - and I'm completely sorry for that," Morant said. "So my job now is, like I said, to be more responsible, smarter, and don't cause any of that no more."

Morant was eligible to play his first game back after his suspension on Monday night but didn't play until Wednesday so he could prepare for his return. He ended up missing nine games in 19 days in total.

Yahoo!Sports reported that Morant's first game back looked slightly different. During his usual warmup before the game, he had headphones on and mumbled song lyrics to help him focus and cancel out any outside noise. He also meditated before the game, which was emphasized during his time at the counseling program in Florida.

His first game back proved good with a 130-125 win over the Houston Rockets. Morant scored 17 points during his 23 minutes on the court.

Morant's daughter Kaari, 3, was at the game and a cute video has been circulating the internet of the two of them after the game. The Memphis Grizzlies shared the video on their Instagram page.

After Morant's Instagram Live in early March, the Grizzlies star removed his Instagram page, but now that he's back on track and hopefully headed in a better direction, he has reinstated it.

He hasn't shared any new posts yet, but the Powerade ad clip he shared just days before the infamous Instagram Live is still there. There's no word yet if Powerade has completely severed all ties with the NBA player or if they will continue the partnership at a later time.