When young guns Ja Morant and Victor Wembanyama crossed paths recently, the matchup was expected to be a fierce one. Surely, the fans were not disappointed. While the Memphis Grizzlies reigned supreme on the San Antonio Spurs with a 129-115 victory, the limelight was taken by Ja Morant. Standing at 7-foot-3, Wembanyama is often termed as an alien. Thus, dunking over him would take some serious talent.
And that is exactly what Ja Morant did. During a play, Morant ran in with the ball and made a thumping leap over the towering Wembanyama. When the latter tried to block Morant, the Grizzlies star put in a thundering dunk to make the crowd go berserk. While it would surely be an asset for the highlight reel, the dunk did not impact the game at all.
One of the BEST DUNKS you'll EVER see (that didn't count). https://t.co/h6ikaevHv0 pic.twitter.com/KKamteR1GU
— NBA (@NBA) January 16, 2025
The reason? Well, it did not count! Just a split second before Morant went through with the shot, the referee’s whistle blew. It was a call for a live-ball foul that pretty much dampened the impressive play. Meanwhile, as the shenanigan did not count, fans online had an interesting take on the whole incident.
Fans Unwilling To Label Ja Morant’s Play As A ‘Dunk’
As soon as the video went viral, fans flocked to the comments section. However, most of them expressed their confusion as to whether Ja Morant really did dunk the ball or not.
One fan said, “Why didn’t it count! They called an offensive foul?”
Why didn’t it count! They called an offensive foul?
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Another fan said, “Was that a dunk?”
Was that a dunk? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/BeOloaYw3n
— Hashim Mteuzi, PMP (@Mteuzi) January 16, 2025
A third fan chimed in, “More of a throwdown, your hand gotta grab rim on the dunk.”
More of a throwdown, your hand gotta grab rim on the dunk
— market(ing)man (@Dboybruh) January 16, 2025
This fan wanted the NBA to change the rules. The comment read, “NBA needs to change the dunk rule to state that you must touch the rim.”
NBA needs to change the dunk rule to state that you must touch the rim.
— papa soey (@papasoey) January 16, 2025
An user explained, “And it’s not even a dunk. Folks, if you throw the ball into the hoop and your finger hardly grazes the rim, let’s be really clear, that is absolutely not a dunk.”
And it’s not even a dunk.
— Jordan Lamonte III (@jlamonteIII) January 16, 2025
Folks, if you throw the ball into the hoop and your finger hardly grazes the rim, let’s be really clear, that is absolutely not a dunk.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Another fan echoed a similar sentiment, “He threw it into the rim this ain’t even a dunk…”
He threw it into the rim this ain’t even a dunk….
— ✝️ (@Bolivier23) January 16, 2025
Lastly, a fan chimed in, “Its not a dunk! Itsca throw in.”
Its not a dunk ! Itsca throw in.
— jeff swift (@swifty7088) January 16, 2025
Thus, with a full fledged debate stemming in social media, Ja Morant seems to have failed to impress his fans. However, with the NBA season still left, it remains to be seen whether Morant can replicate a similar stunt in future or not.
