Ian Eagle Explains His Iconic 'Ja Breaker' Call

Ian Eagle rose to the moment following Ja Morant's repeated heroics in Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, expertly nailing the Memphis Grizzlies superstar's game-winner and punctuating an iconic slam by yelling "A Ja Breaker!" For those wondering how he came up with the iconic call, Damon Amendolara did his dogged best to get to the bottom of it on the radio this morning.

"You prepare for everything," Eagle said. "That's not to say that it was 'ready to go,' that it was going to click in in a moment's notice. It just hit me in that moment that it was pretty special and it was something that had been marinating in my brain for the last couple of years."

That someone of Eagle's stature would have a solid bar ready to go upon ignition is no surprise. What is surprising, though, is hearing him talk about something marinating. This is a man who claims to have never ingested a condiment. Perhaps a slow-simmering teriyaki sauce doesn't qualify. It's unclear who makes the rule on all of this.

Ja Breaker is a million times better than anything with the last name. Celebrating a high-basketball IQ play with a boisterous "A Morant-is" in homage to the great Rick Moranis would draw a cult audience but not capture the public in the same way.