Ja Morant Is Done Dunking Because It's Too Risky: 'Two Points Is Two Points'

Ja Morant is not going to put himself at risk for your entertainment.

The Memphis Grizzlies star has become known for his flashy, high-flying dunks, but the 25-year-old now claims that era is over — because it's not worth the possible injury.

"I'm not trying to dunk at all," Morant said. "Y'all think I'm lying. I'm dead serious."

Last month, Morant took a midair hit from Los Angeles Lakers center Christian Koloko while attempting to catch an alley-oop. The incident caused him to miss eight games with a partial posterior hip subluxation and multiple pelvic muscle strains.

"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," Morant said. "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."

So he might not abandon dunking all the time — just when he senses potential danger. And you can forget about the theatrics, too. During Tuesday's loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Morant dunked on a breakaway. But the crowd booed when he delicately dropped the ball through the net instead of doing something flashy.

"Hey, I'm fine with that," Morant told reporters. "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."

Ja Morant says his slam dunking days are over.

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Back in 2021, Morant said that he would only consider participating in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest if he was paid $1 million to do it. Now, it sounds like not even a giant pile of cash would be enough to convince him.

"If I'm chillin' on the in-game, you ain't gotta worry dunk contest, either," Morant told reporters on Tuesday. "Man, my focus right now is do what I can with the team and continue to try to get to 100 percent [healthy]."

Morant is averaging 22 points, 4.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists in 27.7 minutes for the Grizzlies so far this season. He's dunked four times in 12 games.