Ja Morant mercilessly posterized Jalen Smith in what might be the dunk of the year
Ja Morant has a knack for buzzworthy moments lately.
Sometimes, he keeps it weird and interesting, coming up with an unconventional way to burn time off the clock. Other times, he reaches into his heart and saves the day, like when he gifted an 11-year-old Grizzlies fan his game-worn jersey and kicks. And then, there are the occasions that he captures our attention with wildly athletic feats, like a few days ago when he dunked all over Jakob Poeltl.
What Morant pulled off Saturday night was pretty similar to what he did to Poeltl. And it was so spectacular that – for a moment – it felt like we all turned away from the NFL Playoffs to watch him.
In the third quarter of the Grizzlies’ game in Indiana against the Pacers, Morant drove past T.J. McConnell from the right wing, crossed over to make his way past Oshae Brissett, and then – just before reaching the semicircle in the paint – the 6-foot-2 Memphis guard took flight, cranked his right arm back and jammed the ball down into the hoop over 6-foot-9 Jalen Smith.
The broadcasting team couldn’t contain their excitement, and the Memphis bench went wild.
EVERY ANGLE OF JA MORANT'S UNBELIEVABLE DUNK OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE pic.twitter.com/8u1j6ZNH3F
— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2023
Memphis went on to win 130-112, and Morant was a big reason why. In 25 minutes of action, the fourth-year guard out of Murray State tallied 23 points, 10 assists, three rebounds and a block.
Oh, and that one block was mighty impressive too, as Morant showed off his bunnies on the defensive end.
THIS JA MORANT BLOCK pic.twitter.com/4S3uBGkPFF
— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) January 15, 2023
As of Saturday night, Morant is 10th in the league in scoring this season with 27.6 points per game and fifth in assists with 7.9 per game. He’s also fourth in usage percentage with a 35.5 mark.
There doesn’t seem to be an official NBA stat for filthy dunks per game, but we’re pretty sure Morant’s among the league leaders in that too.