Temetrius Jamel "Ja" Morant was born on August 10,1999 and is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association.
50 Facts About Ja Morant
2.
Ja Morant played college basketball for the Murray State Racers, where he was a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore in 2019.
3.
Ja 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.
4.
Ja Morant had a breakout sophomore season; it saw him win OVC Player of the Year as well as lead the NCAA in assists.
5.
Also as a sophomore, Ja Morant became the first player in NCAA history to average 20-plus points and 10-plus assists per game for a single season.
6.
Ja 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.
7.
Ja Morant was born in Dalzell, South Carolina, to parents, Tee and Jamie Ja Morant.
8.
Ja Morant's mother, Jamie, was a point guard in high school and a softball player in college, while his father was a high school teammate of Ray Allen and played basketball for Claflin University.
9.
Ja Morant trained in his backyard with his father, Tee Ja Morant, who taught him step-back jump shots and bought tractor tires for him to practice jumping with a soft landing.
10.
Ja Morant left as its all-time leading scorer, with 1,679 points, and scored a career-high 47 points against Sumter High School.
11.
Ja Morant left high school as a three-time All-Region Most Valuable Player.
12.
Ja Morant was not ranked by recruiting services ESPN, 247Sports, or Rivals.
13.
Ja Morant 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.
14.
On September 3,2016, Ja Morant committed to playing for Murray State during dinner at McMahon's house.
15.
Ja Morant had the third-most assists in a single game by a Murray State player.
16.
Ja Morant became the seventh freshman in 25 years to accumulate 150 assists, 150 rebounds, and 10 blocks while shooting at least 42 percent from the field.
17.
Ja Morant had 15 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds in that game.
18.
Ja Morant began to register on the radar of some scouts the summer of his sophomore season in 2018.
19.
On January 10,2019, Morant was named to the midseason top 25 watch list for the John R Wooden Award.
20.
Ja Morant 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.
21.
Ja Morant 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.
22.
Ja Morant later earned first-team All-American honors from the United States Basketball Writers Association and second-team All-American honors from Sporting News.
23.
Ja Morant 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.
24.
Ja Morant closed his sophomore campaign averaging 24.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
25.
Ja Morant became the first NCAA player to ever average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in a single season.
26.
Ja Morant was drafted second overall during the 2019 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
27.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies to their first Southwest Division title in franchise history.
28.
Ja Morant scored 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter.
29.
Ja Morant scored the last 15 points for Memphis and 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.
30.
On July 6,2022, Ja Morant signed a five-year extension with the Grizzlies.
31.
Ja Morant set the Grizzlies franchise mark for most points scored through the first two games of a season.
32.
Ja Morant tied Marc Gasol for the most triple-doubles in Grizzlies history.
33.
Ja Morant surpassed Marc Gasol for the most triple-doubles in Grizzlies history.
34.
Ja Morant became the first player in Grizzlies history to put up at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists in a game.
35.
Ja Morant made 10 of 12 shots in the highest-scoring quarter ever by a Grizzlies player.
36.
Later that day, the Grizzlies announced that Ja Morant would be away from the team for at least two games.
37.
Ja Morant released an official statement on that day, stating that he would be leaving the team for an "indefinite amount of time" to find better resources to handle his stress, anxiety, and overall well-being.
38.
Shoe company Nike, which Ja Morant has a partnership with, released a statement on the incident.
39.
Ja Morant has a younger sister, Teniya, who grew up playing basketball with him in their backyard and now competes for Hillcrest Middle School in Dalzell.
40.
In September 2022, Ja Morant was named a defendant in a lawsuit filed in Shelby County, Tennessee.
41.
Ja Morant then punched the 17-year-old and knocked him to the ground, after which he struck him an additional number of times.
42.
When responding officials questioned him, Ja Morant claimed that he acted in self defense and stated that the 17-year-old had threatened him immediately following the incident.
43.
The police report alleged that Ja Morant had threatened a head of security at a mall located in Memphis, which happened four days before the altercation with the 17-year-old male.
44.
Ja Morant then entered the mall with an entourage of at least nine people and was confronted by the head of security.
45.
Ja Morant refused to leave the mall's parking lot, and authorities later arrived at the mall.
46.
Ja Morant then came over and exchanged words with Nembhard, and Pacers guard Chris Duarte tried to engage in a physical altercation with Ja Morant.
47.
Later on, a person in a SUV, which Ja Morant was riding in, supposedly pointed a red laser at the bus.
48.
Ja Morant later posted a tweet on Twitter, where he denied all allegations and clarified that Pack was banned from the Forum for a year.
49.
On June 3,2021, Ja Morant released a six-episode documentary, Promiseland, focusing on his first NBA season.
50.
On June 1,2021, rapper Moneybagg Yo released the song "Rookie of the Year" in celebration of Ja Morant being named NBA Rookie of the Year.