Temetrius Jamel " Ja" Morant ( ; born August 10, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Murray State Racers, where he was a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore in 2019.
Morant was only lightly recruited by NCAA Division I programs and unranked by recruiting services, despite having been named All-Region Most Valuable Player three times and earning All-State honors at Crestwood High School in Sumter, South Carolina. Nevertheless, he made an immediate impact at Murray State, earning first-team all-conference honors in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) as a freshman. He had a breakout sophomore season; it saw him win OVC Player of the Year as well as lead the NCAA in assists. As a sophomore, Morant became the first player in NCAA history to average 20-plus points and 10-plus assists per game for a single season.
Morant was selected by the Grizzlies with the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2020. In 2022, he was named to his first NBA All-Star Game as a starter. At the conclusion of the season, Morant won the NBA Most Improved Player Award and was selected to his first All-NBA Team.
Morant trained in his backyard with his father, Tee Morant, who taught him step-back jump shots and bought tractor tires for him to practice jumping with a soft landing. In his childhood, he often faced older opponents, telling his mother, "I'm not worried about the big kids." Morant played in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit with the South Carolina Hornets, a small grassroots team based in Columbia, South Carolina. For one season, he was teammates with Zion Williamson, who became one of the top players in the 2018 class.
Morant attended Crestwood High School in Sumter, South Carolina. He grew from to in his first three years with the team. Morant left as its all-time leading scorer, with 1,679 points, and scored a career-high 47 points against Sumter High School. In his last two seasons at Crestwood, he averaged 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game, earning South Carolina Class 3A All-State honors both years. Morant also left high school as a three-time All-Region Most Valuable Player (MVP). He could not dunk until he was a senior.
Morant was not ranked in the class of 2017 by recruiting services ESPN, 247Sports, or Rivals. His only high major NCAA Division I offer came from South Carolina. He was accidentally discovered by mid-major program Murray State of the OVC in July 2016, when assistant coach James Kane attended a camp hoping to see a player who was joining his team. While looking for a snack, Kane noticed Morant playing a three-on-three game in an auxiliary gym; impressed, he contacted head coach Matt McMahon, who soon offered Morant a scholarship. On September 3, 2016, Morant committed to playing for Murray State during dinner at McMahon's house. His father said, "Every parent wants their child to play at a big-time program, but what I realized is, don't go where you want to be, go to where they want you." His other Division I offers included Duquesne, Maryland Eastern Shore, South Carolina State, and Wofford.
On January 10, 2019, Morant was named to the midseason top 25 watch list for the John R. Wooden Award. On the same day, he broke the school record for most assists in a single game, with 18, while scoring 26 points against UT Martin. He established a new scoring career high nine days later on January 19, when he recorded 40 points, 11 assists, and 5 steals, shooting 21-of-21 from the free throw line, in a victory over SIU Edwardsville. He broke the OVC record for most consecutive free throws made in a game, and he became the tenth player in Murray State history to record a 40-point game. Morant also became the first NCAA Division I men's player in 20 years to tally at least 40 points, 10 assists, and 5 steals in a single game. On February 2, Morant collected 28 points and 7 assists in a 67β63 win over Tennessee Tech. He broke the school single-season assist record of 212 set by Chad Townsend in the 1996β97 season. After posting 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 14 assists in a 102β70 victory over Eastern Kentucky, Morant became the 46th Murray State player with 1,000 career points and eclipsed the OVC record for single-season assists previously held for 32 years by Duane Washington of Middle Tennessee.
At the end of the regular season, he was named OVC Player of the Year and first-team All-OVC, while leading the NCAA Division I in assists. He later earned first-team All-American honors from the United States Basketball Writers Association and second-team All-American honors from The Sporting News. On March 8, in the semifinals of the OVC tournament versus Jacksonville State, Morant scored 29 points, including a game-winning three-point play. One day later, he recorded 36 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in a 77β65 upset victory over the Belmont Bruins, who were playing without injured first team All-OVC center Nick Muszynski, for the OVC Tournament title. Morant was subsequently named the tournament's MVP. On March 21, in an 83β64 win over fifth-seeded Marquette in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament, Morant posted 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 16 assists. He became the eighth player to officially record a triple-double in the history of the tournament, and the first player since Draymond Green in 2012. In the second round, he chipped in 28 points in a season-ending 90β62 loss to fourth-seeded Florida State. During the game, Morant set school records for career assists and single-season points.
He closed his sophomore campaign averaging 24.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. Morant became the first NCAA player to ever average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in a single season.
Following Murray State's loss in the 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament, Morant announced his intention to forgo his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility and declare for the 2019 NBA draft.
On May 21, 2021, in the newly implemented play-in tournament, with the eighth and final playoff spot on the line, Morant recorded 35 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists to lead Memphis to a 117β112 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors, securing the Grizzlies' first postseason berth in four seasons. Two days later, he made his NBA playoff debut, scoring 26 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists to help lead the Grizzlies to a 112β109 upset victory in Game 1 over the top-seeded Utah Jazz. Morant followed that up with 47 points and 7 assists in Game 2, but Memphis fell short, 141β129. The Grizzlies were eliminated, losing the series in five games.
On January 26, Morant tied his season-high 41 points, alongside 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals in a 118β110 win against the San Antonio Spurs. On January 27, Morant was selected to his first All-Star Game as a West Starter. The next day, Morant logged his fourth career triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 119β109 win over the Utah Jazz. On February 16, Morant tied his then-career high with 44 points, including a career-high 20 points in the first quarter, grabbed 5 rebounds and delivered 11 assists in a 123β119 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers. On February 26, Morant scored a then-career-high 46 points in a 116β110 win over the Chicago Bulls. The total was the record for most points in a game by a Grizzlies player, breaking Mike Miller's record set in February 2007. On February 28, Morant bested this total, scoring a career-high 52 points, on an efficient 22-of-30 shooting, including 4-4 from beyond the arc, in a 118β105 win over the San Antonio Spurs. On March 18, he tweaked his right knee against the Atlanta Hawks and missed nine games. Morant led the Grizzlies to their first Southwest Division title in franchise history. Memphis also tied their franchise record with 56 wins. Despite missing 25 games during the regular season, he was named the winner of the NBA Most Improved Player Award.
On April 21, 2022, during Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs, Morant posted 16 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in a 104β95 Game 3 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was the first postseason triple-double in Grizzlies franchise history. In Game 5, Morant scored the game-winning layup with one second left, finishing with 30 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in a 111β109 win. He scored 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. On May 3, during Game 2 of the second round of the playoffs Morant put up a playoff career-high 47 points along with 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals in a 106β101 win over the Golden State Warriors. He scored the last 15 points for Memphis and also became just the third player in NBA playoffs history to have multiple 45-point games before turning 23 years old, joining Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. On May 7, Morant injured his right knee in game 3 of the series and Memphis would go on to lose in 6 games. In the three games he played, he averaged 38.3 points per game on 50.6%/43.3%/85.7% shooting splits.
On January 29, 2023, Morant put up his seventh career triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists in a 112β100 win over the Indiana Pacers. He also became the first player in Grizzlies history to put up at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists in a game. On February 2, Morant was named to his second NBA All-Star Game as a reserve guard for the Western Conference. On February 28, Morant scored 28 of his 39 points in the third quarter and added 10 assists and 10 rebounds to achieve his 10th career triple-double in a 121β109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He made 10 of 12 shots in the highest-scoring quarter ever by a Grizzlies player.
In Game 3 of the Grizzlies' first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Morant put up 45 points, with 22 of those coming from the fourth quarter, alongside 13 assists and nine rebounds in a 111β101 loss. His 22 points scored in the fourth quarter are the most points scored in a quarter in a playoff game in Grizzlies history. Memphis would go on to lose the series in 6 games.
According to the website, acquaintances of Morant "aggressively confronted" members of the Pacers' party near their team bus. Later on, a person in a SUV, which Morant was riding in, supposedly pointed a red laser at the bus. Two members of the Pacers' party that spoke to The Athletic believed that the laser was attached to a gun. A Pacers security guard near the bus loading area remarked, "That's one hundred percent a gun" and another person present stated that they "felt we were in grave danger." The NBA later investigated the incident, where they interviewed multiple people and reviewed surveillance footage. Spokesman Mike Bass stated to The Athletic that while the league "substantiated that a postgame situation arose that was confrontational", they could not "corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon." Bass also said that "certain individuals involved" in the incidents were banned from attending games at FedEx Forum, the Grizzlies' arena. Morant later posted a tweet on Twitter, where he denied all allegations and clarified that Pack was banned from the Forum for a year.
On March 15, Morant met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver in New York after exiting from his counseling program. Multiple other top NBA executives also attended the meeting. The same day, the NBA announced that they had suspended Morant for eight games without pay for the nightclub incident. The suspension covered the six games that Morant had already missed as a result of his leave of absence from the Grizzlies, meaning he would be eligible to return to playing as soon as March 20.
On May 14, two months after the first suspension, he was suspended from all team activities by the Grizzlies for flashing a gun during another Instagram Live session, in this instance on his friend Davonte Pack's account. Following the incident, Silver said he was "shocked" and that the league and the team would assess the extent of further disciplinary actions. On June 16, he was suspended for 25 games provided that he fulfilled a league-sponsored program that addressed his wrongdoings.
On March 28, 2025, the Grizzlies fired coach Taylor Jenkins, who had been Morant's only head coach during his tenure with the team, with only nine games remaining in the 2024β25 regular season and the team nearly having secured entry into the 2025 NBA playoffs with a 44β29 record at the time. Frustrations among the team members from throughout the season began coming out following the shocking dismissal, notably with Morant having expressed frustration with his considerable decrease in touches, points, and efficiency.
On April 1, 2025, Morant and Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield made gun-aiming gestures at one another. The league briefly investigated the circumstance in light of Morant's history of firearms controversies and concluded that "the celebrations were not intended to be violent in nature, but inappropriate." Warnings were issued by the league to him and Hield about their conduct. In Morant's next game on April 3, he again made multiple gun-aiming gestures. He finished the game with his second career game-winning buzzer beater to beat the Miami Heat 110β108. When asked post-game about the criticism he has faced for his in-game gestures, he said that he was "well aware" and "kind of used to" what is said about him. Reflecting on the narrative around him, he said, "I was pretty much a villain for two years now. Every little thing, if somebody can say something negative about me, it's going to be out there. So, yeah. I don't care no more." The following day, Morant was fined $75,000 for his direct disregard of the warning he had received hours before the incident.
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2017β18
| style="text-align:left;"| Murray State
| 32 || 32 || 34.0 || .459 || .307 || .806 || 6.5 || 6.3 || .9 || .4 || 12.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018β19
| style="text-align:left;"| Murray State
| 33 || 33 || 36.6 || .499 || .363 || .813 || 5.7 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 10.0* || 1.8 || .8 || 24.5
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 65 || 65 || 35.3 || .485 || .343 || .810 || 6.1 || 8.2 || 1.4 || .6 || 18.7
Morant has a daughter who was born on August 7, 2019.
On March 1, 2023, The Washington Post released a report that further detailed the incident. After the altercation, Morant allegedly went inside his house and came out with a gun tucked in his waistband. The 17-year-old's mother later took the boy to the hospital and filed a police report. The police report also alleged that Morant had threatened a head of security at a mall located in Memphis four days before the altercation with the 17-year-old male. In the report, it claimed that Morant's mother got into a verbal altercation with an employee at a Finish Line store inside the mall, and she subsequently called Morant for help. Morant then entered the mall with an entourage of at least nine people and was confronted by the head of security. Morant refused to leave the mall's parking lot, and authorities later arrived at the mall. As the group was leaving the premises, Morant allegedly stated, "Let me find out what time he gets off." A member of Morant's entourage allegedly pushed the head of security, who intended to file a report on the incident because he "felt threatened" by Morant's words.
On March 6, 2023, the police department of Glendale, Colorado, started investigating Morant after he allegedly flashed a gun in a strip club on an Instagram live stream. Two days later, the department announced that Morant would not face criminal charges for the incident, stating they were "not able to determine that probable cause existed for the filing of any charges."
Morant received a shout-out from rapper J. Cole on the song "My Life" from Cole's 2021 album The Off-Season. On June 1, 2021, rapper Moneybagg Yo released the song "Rookie of the Year" in celebration of Morant being named NBA Rookie of the Year. The song reflects on Morant's "underdog mentality and praises his rise from a little known college freshman to being named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2019β20".
College career
Freshman year
Sophomore year
Professional career
Memphis Grizzlies (2019βpresent)
2019β20 season: Rookie of the Year
2020β21 season: First playoff appearance
2021β22 season: First All-Star and All-NBA selections
2022β23 season: Contract extension and controversy
Indiana Pacers incident
Gun incidents
2023β24 season: Return from suspension and injury
2024β25 season: Return from injury and continued controversies
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
Playoffs
College
* Led NCAA Division I
Personal life
Legal issues
Media
Footnotes
See also
External links
|
|