Ja Morant is known for his absurd athleticism and entertaining playing style. In fact, Morant has one of the best highlight reels of any NBA player, and he is essentially must-see television for both casual observers and die-hard fans. On Tuesday, the 23-year-old added to his already explosive list of highlights with a one-of-a-kind play against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Late in the third quarter and with the Memphis Grizzlies trailing by a 77-75 margin, Morant drove to his right and found some extra space against the New Orleans Pelicans. That allowed him to really load up and, well, CJ McCollum’s efforts to stop him at the rim proved to be fruitless.
JA MORANT ARE YOU SERIOUS pic.twitter.com/LdcjnBK83B
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) November 16, 2022
Morant changing hands in the air, only to be able to still dunk the ball, is preposterous on its face. McCollum is not exactly an elite rim protector, but this is the kind of play that would’ve been deeply impressive even on a layup, much less a powerful dunk from Morant.
It would be interesting to compile a list of players that would even dare to try this, and Morant would easily be the most likely of all NBA players. Still, actually doing it in a competitive game against a quality opponent is a different animal, and Morant’s dunk also came in the midst of a nationally televised contest that was hopefully seen by many, many people.