Pour One Out For One Of The Best In Game Dunkers Ever After Ja Morant Says He's Done Trying To Dunk On People

Dylan Buell. Getty Images.

For my money, there aren't too many players in today's NBA that are more electric than Ja Morant. When he's healthy and on the floor, few players if any give you more "holy shit" moments than Ja. Despite being a point guard, he's my leader in the clubhouse for the best in game dunker in the league, and unfortunately, it appears the days of monster Ja Morant posters are over, or at the very least will be few and far between

“I'm not trying to dunk at all. 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."

Of course, there will always be exceptions, like the pretty ridiculous Ja dunk we had a few games ago

but that's not really what Ja is referencing. He's talking about the posters. The ones where your brain melts as you watch him elevate for what feels like hours and then finish with power through his defender. Sometimes he flat-out jumps over a guy. It's why he has one of the best poster reels in the NBA

But at the end of the day, he's right in what he says. As amazing as those plays are to watch, Morant has reached the point in his career where health matters more. This is a guy who has never played more than 67 games in a season (rookie year) and has been under 62 games in each of the last 3 years. Sure, some of that was due to his own decisions on IG, and some may have been due to injuries not related to poster dunks, but the point is for the Grizzlies to be at their best, they need Ja on the floor. If that means eliminating trying to dunk over people, that's a sacrifice I guess he's willing to make.

This also isn't all that uncommon for these big time poster dunkers. Anthony Edwards has said something similar as well during the Netflix Starting 5 special

Did you know Ant only has 9 dunks this season? I sure didn't until I looked it up, but it seems like his focus this year has been on his vastly improved outside shot as opposed to hunting these big time dunks/posters, which just like Morant makes some sense.

You watch a Grizzlies game and you'll see time and time again where Morant is clearly fouled when in the air and nothing is called, and then all you can do as a Grizzlies fan is pray he's OK after the landing. While it may be a bummer for fans in the short term to have that aspect of his game take a backseat, it also in theory could add a handful of years to Ja's career, which is something every basketball fan should be behind. It's not like he has anything to prove as a dunker, so now as he enters the back half of his 20s I don't blame the guy for starting to think about his future and how the beating his body takes could impact things down the road. The last thing anyone wants is to see another Derrick Rose situation.

Something tells me there will still be a moment where Ja unleashes another one of his insane posters, but for the most part, it'll probably be transition plays and open lane dunks like you saw above. If that helps keep him on the court though, it's a sacrifice I'd be willing to make as a viewer. While those plays are fun, having Morant be available to play where he can do a whole bunch of other cool shit and not have to miss multiple weeks is better.