NBA great Paul Pierce comes to Ja Morant’s defense over gun controversy: ‘Y’all don’t know what he going thru’

NBA great Paul Pierce defended Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant for carrying a gun and admitted he carried a weapon after being stabbed early in his career.

Pierce suggested he could empathize with Morant’s situation given what he had to go through during his NBA career. In September 2000, Pierce was stabbed 11 times after an incident in a Boston nightclub. The Celtics star needed lung surgery to repair the damage that was done.

“I don’t care what y’all say about Ja I carried a gun after I was stabbed y’all don’t know what he going thru everyone got something to say until u really know what’s really going on in someone life when u black and rich u a target period,” Pierce tweeted early Sunday morning.

Morant appeared to brandish a gun on a video livestream while he was in a nightclub after the Grizzlies played the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night. The video sparked an uproar on social media and the superstar point guard was suspended for two games.

NBA CHAMP ADVISES JA MORANT TO ‘KEEP YOUR S— TIGHT,’ COMPARES SITUATION FROM HIS OWN LIFE

He issued an apology later Saturday.

“I take full responsibility for my actions last night,” Morant said. “I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”

Morant could face further punishment if the league’s investigation finds wrongdoing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.