The tallest person in the NBA just became the latest victim of Ja Morant’s spectacular aerial assault.
Victor Wembanyama, the rookie sensation from France who towers over everyone at 7-foot-4, got a brutal and close-up lesson on Morant’s famous crossover move in the lane that he normally finishes off with an authoritative slam dunk.
The instantly classic moment happened between Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies and Wemby’s San Antonio Spurs in Tennessee on Tuesday evening, Jan. 2, 2023. Since the Grizzlies and Spurs are both suffering with horrible records at 10-22 and 5-27, respectively, this might not have seemed like the most tantalizing matchup in the NBA.
But the momentous play by Morant, where he torpedoed toward the rim and then launched himself into the sky, electrified the home crowd and had the announcers screaming as if they were being tortured. After Morant returned to the earth’s surface, he then unleashed a roar before racing back on defense. Meanwhile, bedlam had erupted inside FedExForum in Memphis.
This was also a case of Morant getting revenge on Wemby, who blocked his shot earlier in the contest. In that instance, Morant had beaten Wemby off the dribble on the right side of the court and decided to try to lay the ball up off the backboard instead of throwing it down. Wemby, who has an impossibly long wingspan, easily swatted the ball away and the Spurs raced down the court.
WEMBY BLOCKS JA ✋ pic.twitter.com/9FVk2VjSpE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 3, 2024
Morant’s dunk in the 4th quarter, however, propelled the Grizzlies in the matchup of two marquee stars of the NBA. Morant finished the game with 26 points to power the Grizzlies to a convincing victory over the Spurs, 108-96.
Wemby, the rookie sensation who is the most hyped player in the league since LeBron James in 2003, finished with 20 points but he got little help from his teammates.
