Present-day NBA fans might not remember Jamario Moon, but he was one of the most electric dunkers the game had ever seen and lived several different fascinating basketball lives.
Jamario was a gravity-defying journeyman who wore the Moon on his back
For many fans, the NBA is a league measured in statistics and correlative impact on the hardwood: wins, losses, points, assists, rebounds, and other metrics calculated to determine the best and worst ratings.
Then, thereās the poetry behind the numbers āā āthose moments of soulful transcendence and levitation; plays in-between plays, reminiscent of a free-flowing jazz session āā when it all amounts to something measureless, meaningful, and beloved despite any tangible outcome.
Every once in a while, basketball becomes performance artā ā āunexpected and unimitableā ā āwhen a player takes flight midgame to a chorus of cheers, or makes a no-look shimmy pass down the lane, or palms the leather in hand while floating past helpless defenders on the way to a silky lay up. Consider it an act of holy achievement. A blueprint of NASA proportions. Indeed, sometimes, a player just shoots for the moonā ā āeven if history and record books canāt hold them.
Jamario Moon is one of those hoopers. And with a name like that, how could we forget him?
He wasnāt the flashiest or most dominant of his era. Not even close. On a good day, the casual fan would be luckyā ā āif not surprisedā ā āto see him do much. He wasnāt an All-Star; in his five NBA seasons, he wasnāt even a consistent starter. No. Moon was simply one of those skywalkers who would part the clouds of an arena somewhere in America for a thunderous dunk one night, then recede to the far end of the bench into late-2000s obscurity.
Some other players are trendier to remember and categorize: How good was he/she? Did they win a championship? Are they among the all-time greatest?
But on an instinctual level, Jamario lends a more complicated, inexplicable connection: Did he pull off some cool shit that the average human could only dream of? Is his name dope to say aloud?
Does his game evoke a vague, other-worldly memory that can only be honored in a nerdy retrospective essay like this?
Did he hop on the moon of our imagination?

From a sterile standpoint, Jamario Moonās basketball career has been documented by the BIG3 Leagueā ā āwhere he played in his aging days like many vets, including the ageless Joe Johnsonā ā āas such: āAcquired by the Triplets in a midseason trade with 3 Headed Monsters, Moon played a big role in the teamās run to the 2019 title, pulling down nine rebounds in the championship-game victory over Killer 3s. Born in Goodwater, Alabama, Moon hooped at Meridian Community College for one season before deciding to play professionally. A versatile forward, Moon played in the D-League, overseas[,] and with the Harlem Globetrotters before making it to the NBA. Moon went on to play for the Raptors, Clippers, Heat and most notably, the Cleveland Cavaliers.ā
In another instance, Bleacher Report summed up his NBA accolades into the following two sentences: āHe did start for Miami when they made the playoffs, and he did have a start when the Raptors played Orlando in the first round. He was the first guy in Cleveland to fill the three spot when LeBron James left.ā
At one point, the New York Times even wrote an article about him, in a story titled āFor Moon, Many Stops Before N.B.A. Arrival.ā Iām sure itās good, but I exceeded my limit of free NYT joints and was swatted away by a Mutumbo-like paywall.
Point is, there isnāt too much-documented history about this astronaut-adjacent man on the internet. And I, for one, think thatās bullshit.

I donāt know anyone from Goodwater, Alabama. I especially canāt recall any NBA player from thereā ā ābesides @IAmJamarioMoon, the former Raptor who joined Toronto in 2007, back when the Nets were still loitering along New Jerseyās famously putrid shores.
But this isnāt about those facts. This is about Jamarioās āinhuman reboundā against the San Antonio Spursā ā āa highlight clip that is made all the more enigmatic with the lulled excitement of the German commentators. (Itās also a rebound that was ranked as one of the ā3 most athletic rebounds in NBA historyā by The Jump).
This is about Jamario, āthe NBA player who literally JUMPED to the MOONāā ā āa low-key dude who modeled his game after Scottie Pippen, then debuted for his first-ever NBA appearance on Chicagoās court, where local announcers said he made a āScottie Pippen-likeā defensive block on Luol Dengās dunk attempt, despite playing for the opposing team.
Jamario, who gifted us this sweet melody of a āhammer dunk!ā against the Chris Paul-starring New Orleans Hornets.
Jamario, who went overseas to ball for Greeceās Olympiacos and drew the woos of a packed foreign arena with his fastbreak yammies.
Jamario, who, along with Xavier Moon, became the first uncle-nephew combo to play in the NBA G League at the same time.
Jamario, whose international reputation has earned him the nickname, J-Luna (Moon in Spanish).
SPOTIFY
Most of us learn how to walk when weāre children. But the lucky ones get to moonwalk.
Only in watching these moments though āā āthese games, these icons ā can we reconsider the way we think about sport, or the way we might even consider the gravity of all possibilities in our lives. I donāt think thatās an overstatement.
Like a Google search, YouTubing āJamario Moonā doesnāt yield more than a page or two. But Moon epitomizes how itās not the quantity of content that a baller has produced in our lifetimes that makes them memorable, but the quality. From his time in the NBA, I would hang Jamario up there with the most thrilling to watchā ā āa walking poster.
Jamario Moon really was that dude, if only for an instance. For that, Iāll recall him as much as Iāll recall LeBron Jamesā ā āremember, that one guy he replaced in Cleveland?
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