MEMPHIS — Ja Morant sat at a podium in front of a contingent of media members with Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and general manager and president of operations Zach Kleiman standing off to the side Friday.

The Grizzlies point guard, speaking publicly for the first time since his 25-game suspension, was short and intentional with most of his responses, but his messaging was clear.

Morant admitted he has made “a lot” of mistakes. Two of those mishaps included brandishing what appeared to be guns in two Instagram Live videos. The first incident in March led to a nine-game suspension; the second in June led to a 25-game suspension.

Now, as Morant reflects, he’s finding the balance between proving to others that he has learned from previous setbacks while also not losing the core values of who he is as a person.

“I can’t make nobody believe me outside of my actions,” Morant said. “Me answering this question with just words probably won’t mean nothing to nobody.”