Ja Morant dunks, rookie dance moves highlight historic turnout at Memphis Grizzlies open practice

If rising ticket sales weren't already an indication of increased Memphis Grizzlies appeal, Sunday's open practice sure was.

The crowd inside of FedExForum rivaled that of any past Grizzlies open practice.

“I’ve been doing this for 19 years here in Memphis, and I’ve never seen a crowd like this for an open practice," Bally Sports play-by-play broadcaster Pete Pranica said.

Fans were rewarded by watching the players do skill challenges, drills and a scrimmage. The atmosphere was loose, with coach Taylor Jenkins miked up and leading the team through drills.

This was the first time most fans got a chance to see Steven Adams shoot a 3-pointer. Adams was running in transition during a Grizzlies drill when he stopped on the wing and got a pass that led to the 7-footer calmly draining a deep shot. That sequence led to one of the most notable fan reactions of the day before the scrimmage.

The scrimmage had an All-Star Game feel, with players throwing down crowd-pleasing dunks. David Roddy threw an alley-oop to Ja Morant so high that the All-Star point guard's head was at the rim as he windmill dunked. Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman Sr. said Morant's style of play was most like the Harlem Globetrotters' than anyone on the team.

"It's pretty awesome to see the city stand behind us just for even open practice," Tillman said. "The love that they have for us, no matter what we are doing, is pretty awesome."

Here are some other takeaways from Sunday's practice.

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Man of the people

Morant made sure fans had a good time. Along with the alley-oop from Roddy, Morant had a between-the-legs dunk in transition during the scrimmage. His passing also had an extra flare. The most impressive was when he jumped in the air, went between his legs with the basketball and bounced it onto the floor hard enough for the ball to hit Justin Bean in the hands for an impressive alley-oop.

Even when open practice ended, Morant wasn't done putting on a show. The All-Star point guard surprised fans by appearing near the parking garage exit. Morant posed for pictures as he was met by a convoy of fans. And it wasn't just fans walking up in the area. Bypassing drivers held up traffic to see Morant.

Rookies and dance moves

When the rookies took the floor for their solo dance sessions, Tillman, a third-year pro, said the crowd size took them by surprise. Tillman admitted that it was also more than he expected, but that just meant more people for the rookies to impress.

Point guard Kennedy Chandler got Tillman and Bane's votes for best dance moves among the rookies. Chandler went back to his Memphis roots by doing one of the city's most popular dances, the paper chase. The song by Memphis artist "EP" blared over the speakers while Chandler danced around center court and got his teammates involved.

Bean got Jenkins' vote for best dance moves. Bean brought out a variety of moves, including the "griddy" and a pair of popular TikTok dances that had the FedExForum crowd and teammates grooving.

Preseason game plans

Jenkins hinted after the opening practice at how the Grizzlies plan to approach the final two preseason games. The Grizzlies will play the Magic on Tuesday in Orlando, then travel to Detroit for a Thursday matchup against the Pistons. Those two games will serve as big evaluation periods.

Jenkins said that Thursday's game will be a "dress rehearsal." All signs point to more of the younger players getting action in Tuesday's game, with Memphis using what could be its early season rotation Thursday.

"Our execution and coverages and situations are another thing we're challenging more in preseason," Jenkins said. "A lot of that stuff, evaluation on our own stuff and evaluation on the players that are potentially going to be in that opening night rotation."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant puts on show in Memphis Grizzlies open practice