MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant made a lot of noise on social media and created a buzz across the nation on his way to a record-breaking night Monday.
While Memphis has grown used to jaw dropping moments from Morant, his latest few set new milestones for the Grizzlies - a franchise record in points and the first Grizzly to score 50.
Molly Morrison and her dad had front row seats on a Grizzlies night like no other.
"First of all, it's a regular season, Monday night game. Second of all, it's not the same, in that we're actively up rooting against the other team, and we're anxious and we're nervous. It's literally just like euphoria and excitement, which I think is what makes it so unique," Morrison said.
Morrison runs the @MadeinMemphis1 Grizzlies twitter account with over 24,700 followers. She also has a large Twitter following herself (a humble 67k). But she said her dad, Anthony Morrison, is the real fan.
"He's the reason that I fell in love with the Grizzlies in the first place. So this man, I mean, he literally would spend all of his money on the Grizzlies, because he will do whatever it takes to be in attendance," Morrison said.
The pair were in attendance to see Morant drop everybody’s jaw with a ridiculous dunk over San Antonio Spur Jakob Poeltl and a buzzer beater with just 0.4 seconds to end the first half.
Morant is known for his spectacular dunks, but he's also had some miscues when it comes to dunking over larger opponents. He's come close on Kevin Love and Anthony Davis. On Monday, Poeltl became a seven-foot victim.
"He's had a lot of missed dunks, that had that same level," Morrison said. "But that to me was his best just most explosive dunk by far and he finally got the big one."
"We've seen Ja dunk on seven footers before and he's told Rob Fischer, 'I'm not afraid of anybody'," said Pete Pranica, play-by-play announcer for the Grizzlies on Bally Sports.
Pranica has been on hand every night for 18 seasons as play-by-play for the Grizzlies. Monday’s highlights, specifically the dunk and buzzer beater, were some of the best plays he’s seen.
"To make that shot in that moment, with four tenths of a second - all you can do is catch and shoot and he squares himself and he shoots while he's in midair. I said it was insanity. I mean I stand by that description. That's as good a shot as you're ever going to see in that circumstance," Pranica said.
Morant is the first Grizzly to drop 50 points on his way to 52, Monday night. It was a moment he shared with the whole arena.
"It was for the city like 50 for the city, the bench was all standing up hugging each other. It was like, cool, because obviously everyone's on their feet. And they know, 'Okay, next basket is 50.' So it was kind of like, we were waiting for that moment."
The night had social media buzzing. Even the great Allen Iverson showed love, posting a picture of Morant’s jersey draped over AI’s MVP trophy.
Pranica said his broadcast colleagues have compared aspects of Morant's game to NBA greats like Tony Parker and Derrick Rose, but Pranica said 'The Answer' is the best answer when it comes to player comparisons.
"I still think that the probably the closest corollary to any retired player might be Allen Iverson - that never say die attitude, that willingness to attack anybody regardless of size. So I do see a lot of Allen Iverson in Ja Morant in that downhill Bulldog. I'm gonna tear the rib down mentality," Morant said.
While Iverson will always be beloved in Philadelphia, Morrison believes Morant wants to leave his own legacy right here in Memphis. And she will watch right by her dad's side.
"It's really, really special for a city like Memphis to have a guy like that who's not only that incredible, but who once again loves the city and embraces it and wants to really accomplish something here. It's amazing," Morrison said.