It’s hard, admittedly, to say which of Ja Morant‘s gravity defying feats will end up being his greatest play this season. But there is little question that whatever transpires the rest of the way, this defensive chicanery by Morant — intercepting a pass without even seeing the ball being inbounded — will be among the contenders.
And that’s even if Morant, as he might, hits his head on the scoreboard one night soaring for a slam.
The way that @JaMorant reads the action and anticipates the pass without giving it away to the inbounder…
— NBA (@NBA) November 16, 2022
Incredible stuff last night. pic.twitter.com/GMEizwjuFL
It’s a good thing there’s Twitter and TV, too, to relive the scene of the crime. Because one distracted Pelicans fan who purchased the front row courtside seat for the Grizz-Pelicans matchup missed Morant’s magic moment – even though it happened right in front of him.
Check out the man in the light blue hoodie and white kicks in the video above. He never looks up with the action just ten feet away. He just keeps staring at his phone instead. (Hey, don’t judge, we’ve all missed something due to device addiction. But still… what a play!)
If fans were eligible for Shaqtin’ A Fool moments, the fan here would be in the running.
Pelicans courtside seats can set a fan back upwards of $2000, so the missed eyewitness account didn’t come cheap. In the fan’s defense, Morant was on defense — not where his usual highlights occur. And the Pelicans Zion Williamson was out, so there weren’t generally as many highlights as usual.