The Memphis Grizzlies have arguably the NBA's most entertaining player in Ja Morant and his return to the floor this season was met with excitement from not only the fanbase but the entire NBA. His flashy and viral posting dunks have made waves throughout his young career.
However, Morant has taken some hard falls on the court that had some people wondering if his style of play would be conducive to a lengthy NBA career. Morant himself has taken notice and decided to change his game a little bit to help keep him on the court.
In the past Morant would attempt dunks over players like Anthony Davis and Kevin Love, and while those plays provided entertainment, his falls were concerning. In the Grizzlies' last playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers in April 2023, Morant left in the 4th quarter of game one with a wrist injury after attempting a dunk over Anthony Davis.
In a close game, Morant was unavailable down the stretch and it led to the Grizzlies falling behind 0-1 in the series and him missing game 2. On plays similar to that this season, Morant has either taken a floater, stopped and looked for a teammate, or finished with an acrobatic layup that provides just as much entertainment as an emphatic dunk.
After not attempting a dunk early this season, the first time Ja Morant attempted one on an alley-oop fast break attempt at home against the Lakers, he left the game on a hard fall with a hip injury. The hip injury sidelined him for eight games and left the fanbase wondering if he would ever be healthy again.
Injuries happen, and nobody can get a gauge of how a player's body will react to anything, even in their personal lives outside of the court or in workouts. Ja Morant's season-ending injury on his torn labrum last season happened in a workout after a game.
However, with a player that had a similar play style as him with injuries piling up to affect his career in Derrick Rose as a teammate last season, Morant had guidance from a veteran who had been down that road before. Ja Morant will continue to elevate his game and play a more condensed style, and every once in a while, he might dazzle with an impressive dunk attempt.
It will be few and far between but the Grizzlies star is preparing for a lengthy and successful career for himself and his teammates. If lessening the body blows by other players and hitting the ground on dunk attempts helps him achieve that, he will be better off for it.