Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant made headlines earlier this month when he proclaimed that he was not going to dunk anymore in order to protect himself from potential injuries. That self-imposed ban lasted exactly as long as you may have expected.
In the middle of the third quarter of the Grizzlies’ 127-121 win over the defending champion Celtics on Saturday night — their first win in Boston since 2013 — Morant drove baseline and saw Kristaps Porzingis waiting at the rim. Morant turned his back to the rim and soared through the paint for a ridiculous double-pump reverse slam, two of his 32 points on the night. He added nine rebounds, nine assists and two steals in one of his best performances of the season.
You may think Morant was joking about the whole not-dunking thing, especially after seeing Saturday night’s acrobatic display, but he made it clear in his original remarks that he was being sincere.
“I’m not trying to dunk at all,” Morant said after the Grizzlies’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 3. “Y’all think I’m lying. I’m dead serious.
“Sometimes I get knocked out the air and [a foul] don’t get called, and now I’m out longer than what I’m supposed to be. Sometimes the foul might get called; I still hit the floor, but after the game you might feel that little fall. So I just pick and choose, man. Hey, two points is two points. I get it done. That’s all that matters.”
Earlier this season, Morant, one of the league’s highest-fliers, was hit in mid-air by Los Angeles Lakers big man Christian Koloko and crashed to the ground. The nasty landing left him with a partial posterior hip subluxation and multiple pelvic muscle strains, which forced him to the sidelines for nearly three weeks. It was only pure luck that the injury wasn’t another season-ender for Morant, who was limited to nine games in 2023-24 due to a suspension and shoulder surgery.
It makes total sense for Morant to prioritize his health as he tries to get the Grizzlies back to the top of the Western Conference, but Saturday’s highlight was a reminder that it will be difficult for him to tone it down in the heat of the moment. It’s one thing to take it easy on a solo fastbreak, it’s another to counter your ingrained instincts on a hard drive to the basket.
Dunking or no dunking, the Grizzlies are just happy to have Morant back on the court. They’re now 10-4 in the 14 games he’s played this season, compared to 6-4 without him. After their big win over the Celtics, they’re up to third place in the Western Conference at 16-8.
