Ja Morant has arguably contributed massively to changing the dynamics of basketball since his arrival at the Memphis Grizzlies in 2019. The 6’2″ Grizzlies forward has scored freely for his franchise in the last four seasons and continues to astonish the big men of the NBA with his brilliant dunking skills. Apart from his incredible ability to pass through the toughest of defenses, Morant has fascinating skills that allow him to score heavily. In the recent game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, the 2022 All-Star pulled off something that even LeBron James and Kevin Durant could not believe.
The Memphis Grizzlies secured a comfortable 130-112 win against the Indiana Pacers. During the game, Morant scored 23 points with 3 rebounds and 10 assists. However, the 23-year-old pulled off a massive move in the third quarter that became the highlight of the game. In addition, Morant’s skills also drew unbelievable reactions from LeBron and KD.
Ja Morant shocks Kevin Durant and LeBron James
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The caption of a recently posted video on the official NBA Twitter account read, “OH MY GOODNESS JA MORANT. DUNK OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE.” With a little over 4 minutes left in the third quarter, Ja Morant made his way into the Pacers’ defense with a pick and roll. After getting closer to the hoop, the 2020 Rookie of the Year landed a fierce dunk on Pacers forward Jalen Smith. The ferocious dunk from Ja Morant left the Grizzlies bench losing their minds as the crowd applauded his efforts. At the same time, the commentators could not believe what Morant had produced against the Pacers’ defense.
Moreover, apart from the fans and experts, the dunk from Ja Morant also intrigued some of the biggest superstars of the game. Kevin Durant retweeted the video shared by the NBA and added some images of sad and crying faces, including one of a lost Steve Harvey.
https://t.co/We6D7Md4Rc pic.twitter.com/qq5uWGskFW
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) January 15, 2023
In addition, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James also responded to Ja Morant’s latest feat that is believed to be the candidate for the Dunk of the Year award. The four-time NBA champ shared the picture of Morant dunking over Jalen Smith in his Instagram story. Moreover, LeBron James wrote in the story, “Man what’s wrong with you @jamorant.”
KD and LeBron seemed to be astonished by the huge dunk from Morant, as the Grizzlies star pulled off a move that sent shock waves within the NBA circles. Meanwhile, Morant has also shown some exciting growth during his early years in the NBA.
Morant’s progress in the NBA
Ja Morant has quickly established himself as a reliable star in the NBA. During his first season with the Grizzlies, Morant was named the Rookie of the Year for contributing 17.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game in 67 appearances. Since then, Morant has improved his performance over the last three seasons.
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After averaging 19.1 in his second season, Morant upped his scoring significantly in his third season, averaging 27.4 points with 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 57 games.
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Luckily for the Grizzlies, Morant has continued to average 27.4 PPG this season as he looks to bag his first NBA championship in the near future.