Grizzlies' Ja Morant Says He's 'Not Trying to Dunk at All' to Avoid Injuries

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant explained Tuesday why he has toned down his dunking this season.

Following the Grizzlies' 121-116 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, Morant told reporters: "I'm not trying to dunk at all. Y'all think I'm lying. I'm dead serious."

When asked to explain why he has decided to eliminate a trademark part of his game, Morant suggested it was in the name of self-preservation and avoiding injuries:

"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."

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, there was a moment during the second quarter of Tuesday's game where Morant had a breakaway dunk opportunity, but rather than throwing down a highlight-reel jam like he typically would, he gently placed the ball in the basket with two hands.

While Morant is smaller than most NBA players at 6'2" and 174 pounds, his athletic dunks played a big role in putting him on the map when he played collegiately at Murray State.

He carried his style of play over to the NBA when the Grizz selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, but injuries have been a major issue for Morant throughout his career.

Morant has never appeared in more than 67 games in a single NBA season, and he is coming off a 2023-24 campaign in which he played a career-low nine games.

Part of that was due to a 25-game suspension for flashing a gun in multiple Instagram videos, but injuries also played a big role, as he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury back in January.

The 25-year-old Morant has returned to his productive ways when healthy this season, averaging 22.0 points, 8.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game for a Grizzlies team that is 14-8 and looking to bounce back from last season's 27-55 debacle.

However, durability has continued to be a problem for Morant this season, as he missed eight games last month with a posterior hip subluxation.

As a result, Morant has dunked the ball only three times in 12 games this season, according to MacMahon.

The Memphis faithful playfully booed Morant when he didn't go for a big dunk Tuesday, but Morant was unfazed, saying: "Hey, I'm fine with that. Continue to boo me. Hey, I got two points. It was still a dunk. It was just not the dunk they wanted to see. But if they boo me off a little rim-grazer, I'm fine with that."

Despite Tuesday's loss, the Grizzlies are tied for third in the Western Conference with the Mavs, just 2.5 games behind the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder.

Morant and the Grizzlies will be back in action Thursday when they host the struggling, 10-12 Sacramento Kings.