Ja Morant's highlight dunk: Where does it rank all time?
Ja Morant propelled the Memphis Grizzlies to a 3-2 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves with a scintillating game-winning layup with one second remaining to ice Game 5.
The spectacular play — an acrobatic, twisting finger roll — was just another example of Morant's dazzling playmaking ability, something fans and opponents have become accustomed to.
Case in point: The aforementioned game-winner wasn't even Morant's best play of the night.
That came with five seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Morant had a one-on-one matchup with Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels near halfcourt as seconds drained from the game clock. As the clock reached nine seconds, Brandon Clarke rushed toward McDaniels' right hip for a screen, but Morant briskly took two dribbles to his right, dismissing Clarke's screen.
He breezed past McDaniels, which left a wide-open runway for a meeting with the basket. Minnesota's Malik Beasley tried to cancel that meeting but only ended up making it that much sweeter as Morant airlifted, cocked back the rock, and jammed it right over him.
The triumphant throwdown immediately sent the Memphis crowd into a frenzy and became one of the top dunks of the playoffs — heck, the year — as soon as it went through the hoop.
The play would carry the Grizzlies to the finish line, as they executed yet another comeback victory after heading into the fourth frame with an 11-point deficit. Morant scored 18 of his 30 points in the final period, including 15 in the final 5:13. He added 13 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and one unforgettable poster.
And according to Skip Bayless, the dunk has potential to be one of the greatest in playoff history. Memphis just needs to follow it up with more wins.
"For me, iconic dunks need to have resounding, residual impact," Bayless said Wednesday on "Undisputed." "It's hard for us to gauge the impact of this because the story ain't told yet. If Memphis goes on and does what I think they're capable of doing, which is winning the West, we might look back on that moment as the moment. If it detonated Ja enough to take over that game, this series, and ultimately the playoffs, then it starts to rise up the iconic list because it's going to take on some meaning.
"I don't know what possessed this young man, but he all of a sudden said ‘it’s time for me to rise.' He literally transcended the game."
Shannon Sharpe argued that it's already stamped as one of the greatest dunks in NBA playoff history.
"It's iconic forever because it happened in the playoffs," he exclaimed.
"He caught a body and the way he brought it all the way back … Oh, it's ingrained. It's in lore now. If I had to score it, I would give it a 10, because he did dunk on somebody, and brought it way, way back. It was almost like a dunk contest dunk, where there's nobody down the lane, and you've just got a prop. And Malik Beasley just happened to be the prop that he could dunk over."
For Sharpe though, the dunk remains outside of his top-three playoff dunks of all time. Sharpe's list included John Starks' left-handed jam, Michael Jordan's '91 slam on Patrick Ewing, and Scottie Pippen's slam on Patrick Ewing.
"I can't say it was better than those," he said.
Chris Broussard believes that with that play, Morant showed he is among the best performers in the NBA.
"What did Ja Morant prove?" Broussard questioned on "First Things First." "Ja Morant proved that he's built with the right stuff.
"What we really need to see from the young stars. All the guys that put up 35 points in January and February, that wow us with big plays in December, we've got to see what they do when the moment gets big. Do you really have the heart, fortitude and basketball character, that when all the NBA world is focused on you, will you shrink, or will you excel?"
Morant showed that he possesses all of those qualities on Tuesday night, which became more than evident in the final quarter. With 9:38 remaining in the game, Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns shushed the crowd after hitting a huge 3-pointer to give Minnesota a 92-79 lead. That's when Morant took over.
"I don't know if Ja saw it out of the side of his eye, but from that point on, Ja was incredible," Broussard said. "He proved that he's here to stay."
Nick Wright clowned Kevin Wildes for his doubts surrounding Morant's moxie.
"I don't know if you can recover from this all-time gaffe," he scolded.
The show continues Friday, as the Grizzlies head to Minnesota for what's slated to be a riveting Game 6.
