Watch: Ja Morant Throws Down Vicious Dunk vs. Pacers
The high-flying Grizzlies star called the slam the best of his career to this point.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant never fails to amaze with his high-flying play and jaw-dropping dunks. But on Saturday night, the 23-year-old uncorked a slam that even he said was the best of his career.
With just over four minutes left in the third quarter of a road game against the Pacers, Morant easily carved his way past a pair of defenders, clearing himself a runway to the rim. At the last moment, Indiana center Jalen Smith slid over to help, but instead offered himself up to be posterized.
Morant and Smith both jumped, with the former cradling the ball with his right hand before unleashing a vicious, one-handed dunk over the Pacers center. The slam sent the Grizzlies bench into a frenzy, and Morant stared over at his teammates before jogging back down the court.
The thunderous dunk extended the Grizzles’ lead to 20 points and was the exclamation point of Morant’s 23-point, 10-assist performance in the 130–112 win. The Memphis point guard also admitted after the game that he couldn’t think of a better dunk in his basketball career
“Yeah, easy,” Morant said when asked if the dunk was his best. “It’s what everybody has been waiting for. I finally made it.”
Morant’s dunk caught the attention of the NBA world Saturday as a number of current and former players took to social media to react to the guard’s latest highlight play.
Morant also had a bit of fun on Twitter at the expense of Smith, writing “jump with me if you want to go viral” alongside video of the ferocious dunk.