Ja Morant had previously declared a firm “NO” to his high-flying days, making it clear that he was “dead serious” about the decision. However, in a surprising twist, he broke his no-dunking vow just one game later. And of course, he had a solid reason behind it, which he explained following his spectacular performance.

After his electrifying dunk against the Celtics, Morant was asked about the moment during a courtside interview with FanDuel Sports. The star point guard explained, “I felt like if I didn’t, Porzingis was gonna block it. So I really wanted to go to the reverse, but, you know, hey. Another one.”

In the third quarter, Morant made his move toward the basket. As he went for a layup, Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis was already in position to block the shot. Not wanting to risk the miss, Morant pulled the ball back mid-air and threw down a jaw-dropping reverse dunk, leaving Jayson Tatum and the TD Garden crowd in stunned silence.

Well, no one saw that coming, especially after Morant himself claimed, “I’m not trying to dunk at all,” on Tuesday after the Grizzlies’ game against the Mavericks. His decision was based on health concerns, as he had missed 10 games this season because of his alley-oop dunk. However, following Saturday’s unexpected 127-121 win, it seems the “dunk guy” is back.

It wasn’t just Morant’s dunk that stole the show, but also his game-high 32 points, which helped his team hold strong against the reigning champs. The 25-year-old dazzled with 9 flashy assists and stuffed the Memphis scoreboard with 9 rebounds, missing a triple-double by a hair. Moreover, he remarkably nailed 11-of-20 shots from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Are you wondering who or what motivated him to push his limits like this? It was the franchise’s former star, Brevin Knight.

Ja Morant reflects on Brevin Knight’s pep talk

In the same interview when Ja Morant was asked what message he would deliver to Brevin, the 2-time All-Star revealed, “He told me before the game and warm-ups that we ain’t won here in, like, 10 years or something. But I told him I got him today, and I was able to deliver. It was tight throughout.”

Before the game, Morant had a conversation with BK, where the 49-year-old reminded him of the struggles the Grizzlies had faced at the TD Garden. The franchise hadn’t won in Boston since 2013, and in the 10 games since, they had failed to secure a single victory. And a decade later, they finally broke the curse.

Morant assured BK before the nail-biting East-West clash, “I got him today.” After securing the victory, he looked for the player-turned-analyst to convey a “challenge completed” message in the classic Barney Stinson way. With their 16th win, the Grizzlies are now in the 3rd spot in the Western Conference standings and will head to Washington next to extend their winning streak against the Wizards on Monday.  The question arises, can we hope to see “another” dunk from Ja Morant? Tell us in the comment section below!