NBA's best in-game dunks of all time: Comparing Ja Morant's insane slam to LeBron James, Michael Jordan, more

Morant placed himself in the pantheon of in-game NBA dunks on Saturday night vs. the Pacers

As much as we love the NBA Dunk Contest, it will simply never compare to the exhilaration of a well-executed in-game poster dunk. The brief moment of anticipation when you see the player load up, the hesitation when you think for a split-second, "there's no way he's actually going to finish this," and finally, the thrilling explosion when the ball is thrown through the rim.

I've been a connoisseur of dunks for the better part of my time on this Earth. I religiously re-watched my recorded VHS versions (yeah, yeah ... laugh it up, Gen Z) of Vince Carter, Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady's legendary 2000 NBA Dunk Contest and James White's 2001 McDonald's All-American Dunk Contest. In 2004, I jumped out of the camping-style folding chair in my college dorm room when Jason Richardson went between-the-legs off the glass, forgetting that my Minolta digital camera was in my lap -- it shattered upon impact with the hardwood floor, but I have no regrets. I gawked at the epic 2016 showdown between Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon alone on my tablet in a Paris AirBnB at 4 a.m., while the rest of the family slept.

This history is why my reaction to Ja Morant's face-melting poster dunk against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday was so telling. When the Memphis Grizzlies guard seemingly bounced off a trampoline, cocked his fully-extended arm behind his head and posterized poor Jalen Smith, I didn't scream. I didn't jump. I didn't spit out my adult beverage.