Ja Morant hints at surprising change in play style

Feb 12, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) during the second half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Ja Morant may be shifting into self-preservation mode.

After a loss on Tuesday to the Dallas Mavericks, the Memphis Grizzlies star Morant hinted at a noteworthy change to his style of play. Morant, who was booed by the Dallas crowd for going with a low-effort two-handed dunk on a breakaway opportunity during the first half, said that he was looking to stop dunking entirely.

“I’m not trying to dunk at all,” Morant said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “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,” added Morant. “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.”

The two-time All-Star Morant, 25, is known as one of the highest flyers in the game and has attacked the rim with reckless abandon throughout his career (resulting in quite the collection of thunderous dunks). But because what goes up must inevitably come down, Morant also puts himself in harm’s way every time he flies through the air.

That is a problem for a player with Morant’s kind of injury history. He has never reached 70 games played in a single season, appeared in a meager nine games last season thanks to a shoulder injury and suspension, and already missed multiple weeks earlier this season with a hip injury.

MacMahon notes that Morant has dunked just three times so far this season, so the numbers appear to back up his assertion as well. Morant previously revealed that he would never do the Slam Dunk Contest, and now it looks like even in-game dunks are a thing of the past for him.