USATSI
It takes a special breed of athlete to stand out among the best athletes in the world, but that’s exactly what happens Memphis Grizzlies guard point Ja Morante He did so in the first half of Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game. In his All-Star debut, Morant threw two crazy dunkers that demonstrated the vertical leap and creativity of the emerging 6-3 star.
The first came on lube from Atlanta Hawks guard point Tra Young. Morant came flying down the aisle, twisting his body in the air to throw a reverse jam at the end with his head practically on the edge.
The next game came late in the second quarter, when Young once again found Morant, this time from half a court. Catching the ball and stuffing it in the house again wasn’t good enough for Morant, so he decided to complete a full 360 mid-air in one of the most mind-blowing moments of the night.
The immersion was particularly notable after the disastrous Slam Dunk competition from the night before, as the contestants combined to shoot 28 percent (7 to 25) in their dive attempts. In the first round. It was the first dunk competition in the NBA since 2001 where No dunks got a perfect scoreand was soon dubbed “the worst dunk contest ever” by many on Twitter, with a similar hashtag that made the rounds.
Needless to say, Morant quickly let us all forget about him Saturday night disappointment With his two light dunks in the first half. Unfortunately for him, his team Durant failed to win on Sunday night, Lost 163-160 to LeBron. Halfway through his breakout season, Morant averaged 26.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game while leading the surprise Grizzlies to a record 41-19 and ranked No. 3 in the Western Conference.
