Ja Morant and his legal team have been given the greenlight to proceed with their argument that the Memphis Grizzlies star was acting in self-defense when he punched a teenager in his home back in July 2022.

To recall, Morant has been slapped with a lawsuit for punching a teenager, identified as Joshua Holloway, during a pickup game in the Grizzlies guard's Memphis home. According to previous reports, Holloway threw a basketball at Morant and “accidentally” hit him in the face, prompting the NBA star to punch the teen with a closed fist.

Morant, however, argued that the hit wasn't accidental and that he only protected himself after Holloway approached him in a threatening manner.

In order for Morant to fight the lawsuit, though, he needs to be allowed to contend that he's acting in self-defense, per Adrian Sainz of Associated Press. Fortunately for him, he got just that after a Memphis judge ruled he's allowed to proceed with the argument.

“A judge on Wednesday ruled that Morant’s lawyers can proceed for now with their argument that Morant was acting in self-defense when he punched Joshua Holloway during a game at the All-Star player’s Memphis-area home in July 2022,” Sainz wrote.

“Morant's lawyers have acknowledged he punched Holloway one time after Holloway threw a basketball at Morant and the ball hit Morant in the chin. In a July 26 motion, the player’s lawyers said he should be immune from liability under the state’s “stand your ground” law, which allows people who feel threatened at their homes to act with force in certain situations.”

However, the legal battle is far from over for Ja Morant. In fact, it's only getting started. While they are allowed to make the self-defense argument, the Memphis judge will have to hear from both lawyers. Representatives from the Tennessee Attorney General also need to give their take on whether the state's “stand your ground” law can be used in the said case.