Best NBA plays that didn't count

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Ja Morant broke the internet on Jan. 15 in a game against the San Antonio Spurs because of a poster dunk on the best rim protector in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama. It could have been the dunk of the year, but the only problem was that it didn’t count, at least not on the box score. Morant was fouled on the perimeter before rising up for the slam, so the aerial display never technically happened.

We sure can’t forget about it and what it could have meant if it did count. Which got us curious about the other best plays in NBA history that didn’t count.

1. Jae Crowder’s in-bound bucket 

Jae Crowder made what would have been one of the best shots ever without burning a single millisecond off the clock. But of course, it didn’t count. Crowder, who was inbounding the basketball for the Boston Celtics during a 2015 game, threw a pass all the way across the court from the opposite baseline.

Instead of his pass finding the hands of one of his teammates, it somehow went off the glass and right in the basket. This “make” would have been the deepest in NBA history. But considering it took place outside of the field of play, it didn’t count, and the opposing Indiana Pacers got the ball back under their own basket.

The precision behind this shot was amazing and the physics for the ball to actually go in were nearly impossible, which is why many fans wish it actually would have counted.

2. Paul Pierce’s corner three-point runner

Paul Pierce is, of course, most known for being one of the best players in Boston Celtics history. He was eventually involved in one of the worst trades ever and moved to the Brooklyn Nets, though. The Nets were the first of three teams he played for while past his prime, and that era included time with the Washington Wizards. While his Wizards run was underwhelming, he did have one play that would have made his Washington stint more impressive had it counted.

In the 2015 Eastern Conference semifinals, the Wizards were down by three with 6.4 seconds left in an elimination game against the Atlanta Hawks. The Wizards gave the ball to their best player, John Wall, but the guard wasn’t able to get off a clean look, forcing him to pass to the aging Paul. Pierce took a dribble to his left and then two long steps before chucking up a three-pointer from the corner that would send the game to overtime.

Despite completely facing the wrong way and shooting a super unorthodox shot, Pierce drained the look at the buzzer. Unfortunately, he released the ball just slightly too late, meaning there was technically no shot at all.

3. Nikola Jokic’s no-look heave

Nikola Jokic has a knack for making circus shots due to his incredible shooting touch. Arguably the most jaw-dropping ever happened on Dec. 3, 2018. Jokic’s Denver Nuggets were inbounding the basketball while up by one with just over five seconds left in the game, so the opposing Toronto Raptors were going to have to foul them.

Jokic knew this, and despite being clobbered right when receiving the pass, he threw the ball up toward the hoop to try and draw a shooting foul. Jokic got hit so hard that he wasn’t looking, and his shot did not use traditional shot form, but it went in nonetheless.

However, the referees ruled the foul to be on the ground, so the make didn’t count. To make the shot more impressive, though, the player who fouled him/that he made the bucket over was Kawhi Leonard, one of the best defensive players in NBA history.

4. Kobe Bryant’s putback slam

Everyone knows you can’t hang off the rim and slam the ball, but there is something about it that looks so cool, especially for people that will never be able to dunk in their lives. Kobe Bryant can certainly dunk without using the rim to boost him up. But in 1999, he had to grab the rim – which resulted in a goaltending call – while going up for a putback, or else he likely would have been undercut and landed hard on the floor.

Even so, the one-handed putback over Hakeem Olajuwon was an incredible display of athletic prowess and certainly one of the best dunks ever that didn’t count.

5. Richard Jefferson’s blast to the past

Richard Jefferson is another player who dunked quite often during his NBA career. As he got older though, that became more and more rare. In his age 34 season, during his lone year with the Dallas Mavericks, the aging veteran looked more like his younger self with a poster dunk over Michael Kidd-Gilchrist that was unfortunately ruled an offensive call.

The dunk was violent and led to a lot of expression from Jefferson, but it certainly shouldn’t have been ruled an offensive foul. Kidd-Gilchrist wasn’t set, and Jefferson rose up and over the top of him for the slam. To make the play even more fun, the pass Jefferson received was a pretty behind-the-back feed from Devin Harris.

6. Jamal Murray’s poster dunk

Jamal Murray might be more known for his clutch jump shooting, but before his ACL injury, he could rise up and slam at any given time. Unfortunately, Murray’s best poster dunk ever didn’t count. The play came in 2020 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Murray drove past his defender and only had DJ Wilson to meet at the rim.

Murray rose up and stuffed it all over Wilson, even hanging onto the rim for a second for good measure. Despite Wilson being in the restricted zone, the referees called a charge on Murray, invalidating the dunk in the process.

7. Stephen Curry’s one-handed off the floor

Stephen Curry does a lot of things that seem impossible with a basketball. It makes sense, too, considering he is the greatest shooter and one of the greatest ball handlers in NBA history. His skills were on full display during a bucket that didn’t count against the Houston Rockets.

Curry was tripped while driving to the hoop, and after he fell to the floor. He flicked up a left-handed backwards shot off of the ground when not even looking at the cup, and of course, it somehow went in.

8. Chauncey Billups’ euro step from deep

Chauncey Billups’ shot with the Denver Nuggets that didn’t count in 2010 most definitely should have. Billups secured a rebound in the closing seconds of the second quarter, so he had to get up a shot quickly. He took one step and then euro stepped into a second step before launching a shot from three-quarter court.

The referees incorrectly called a travel, so the fact that he made the shot didn’t even matter.

9. Ja Morant’s dunk on Victor Wembanyama

The most recent entry on this list is the Jan. 15, 2025 play that sparked this article where Ja Morant somehow elevated over Victor Wembanyama for a dunk. Of course, Morant was fouled much earlier, so the dunk doesn’t count. Because the whistle was already blown, too, it is hard to know how hard Wembanyama was even trying to get a block. Regardless, this was a meet-me-at-the-rim situation between arguably the best dunker and arguably the best rim protector currently in the NBA.

This is only one of many “close-call” dunks Morant has had over his career, and we could have filled this whole list up with magical plays by the Memphis Grizzlies star that didn’t actually count.

10. Marco Belinelli’s off-the-back game-winner

On Jan. 5, 2017, Marco Belinelli almost pulled off a magical game-winner. He was inbounding the ball for the Charlotte Hornets with only 0.5 seconds left in the game while trailing by one point. While you are usually looking for a lob in this type of situation, Belinelli saw an opportunity.

A defender wasn’t looking and had his back facing him, so he threw the ball off of the back of a Detroit Pistons player on defense (Marcus Morris) before quickly running inbounds, grabbing the ball, and launching a three-pointer that would go in. Unfortunately, the release on the jump shot was just slightly too late, so the make was called off.

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