Ja Morant switched hands mid-air on a dunk, one-upped Michael Jordan and sent Twitter into a frenzy during Grizzlies vs. Pelicans game

Scott Rafferty

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Ja Morant switched hands mid-air on a dunk, one-upped Michael Jordan and sent Twitter into a frenzy during Grizzlies vs. Pelicans game image

Welcome to the Vinsanity Scale! In honor of one of the greatest in-game dunkers in NBA history, the Vinsanity Scale rates dunks on a scale of 1-4. Similar to the Horry Scale, the dunk in question is graded on the game situation, difficulty and celebration to answer one question: Would it make Half Man, Half Amazing proud?

Another day, another outrageous Ja Morant play.

The Grizzlies fell to the Zion Williamson-less Pelicans on Tuesday, but Morant did his thing yet again. Not only did he score 36 points, grab eight rebounds, dish out four assists and come up with three steals, but he also threw down a dunk that we could be talking about for the rest of the season — and maybe even beyond.

How ridiculous was Morant's latest acrobatic finish? Let's break it down.

MORE: Revisiting Zion vs. Ja draft debate: Did Pelicans get 2019 No. 1 pick right?

The dunk

Game situation

There's nothing particularly spicy about the game situation. Morant's dunk came with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter and tied the game at 77. There was still a lot of basketball to be played, and it didn't spark a big run.

The Grizzlies went on to lose by a final score of 113-102.

Degree of difficulty

I mean, lol.

A 6-2, 174-pound point guard has no business throwing down as many dunks as Morant does in the first place, and he's out here switching hands midair like prime Michael Jordan while dunking on someone.

And sure, CJ McCollum isn't a shot blocker — he's averaging 0.4 blocks per game in his career — but to do what Morant did with someone else in the paint is absurd.

Plus, Morant got fouled. Watch the phantom cam version:

Quite simply, the list of players in NBA history who could do what Morant did is very, very short. The degree of difficulty doesn't get much higher.

Reaction

It looks like Morant was annoyed a foul wasn't called, but I'm choosing to believe that he was paying homage to Maximus from "Gladiator" by throwing up his arms and yelling "Are you not entertained?!" to the crowd, bench and/or referee.

Both Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller were losing their minds on the TNT broadcast. Even a few former NBA players weighed in on his dunk and overall performance.

Vinsanity Scale

You know where this is going, right? Four out of Four Vinsanitys.

Vinsanity Scale

Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.