Ja Morant is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 2019, he played college basketball for the Murray State Racers, where he was a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore. Ja 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. He 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, Morant was named to his first NBA All-Star Game as a starter.
Birth Name
Temetrius Jamel Morant
Nickname
Ja
Profession
Professional Basketball Player
Position
Point Guard
Shoots
Right
Shirt Number
12 – Memphis Grizzlies
Nationality
American
Personal Life
Birthday / Date of Birth
Ja Morant was born on the 10th of August 1999, in Dalzell, Sumter County, South Carolina, United States.
Age
She’s currently 23 years old.
Sun Sign
Leo
Ethnicity
Black
He is of African-American descent.
Religion
Christianity
Education
Ja had attended Crestwood High School in Sumter, South Carolina. After his high school graduation, he joined Murray State University, a public university in Murray, Kentucky.
Family Details
- Father – Tee Morant (Barber, Former Semi-Pro Basketball Player)
- Mother – Jamie Morant (Former High School Basketball Player, Former College-Level Softball Player)
- Siblings – Teniya Morant (Younger Sister) (High School Basketball Player)
Marital Status
Single
Girlfriend / Spouse
Ja Morant has dated –
- Kadre Dixon – Through his past relationship with Kadre ‘KK’ Dixon, Ja has a daughter named Kaari Jaidyn Morant (b. August 7, 2019).
Physical Statistics
Height
- In feet – 6 feet 2 inches
- In centimeters – 188 cm
- In meters – 1.88 m
Weight
- In Kilograms – 79 kg
- In Pounds – 174 lbs
Body Build
Athletic
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Hair Color
Black
Shoe Size
He wears a size 12.5 (US) shoe.
Sexuality
Straight
Professional Statistics
Famous For
Morant became known for playing for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted 2nd overall in the 1st round of the 2019 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
College Career
On November 10, 2017, Morant debuted for Murray State with 7 points and a team-high 11 assists in a 118–61 victory over Brescia University of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). He recorded his first career double-double on December 12, 2017, with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 69–55 loss to Saint Louis. On February 1, 2018, he scored a season-high 23 points against Southeast Missouri State. Morant and Murray State advanced to the NCAA Tournament his freshman season after capturing an OVC Championship in a 68–51 win over Belmont.
In 2018, Ja began to register on the radar of some scouts the summer of his sophomore season. He was one of 20 players invited to Chris Paul’s Elite Guard Camp, which Morant called, “an honor”. By around December 2018, Morant was almost unanimously projected as a top-five selection in the 2019 NBA draft, and in late January 2019, at least one outlet forecasted him as the first overall selection.
At that time, then-Yahoo Sports journalist Pat Forde wrote, “He seems almost certain to be the first top-ten pick from a mid-major school in five years (Elfrid Payton, Louisiana-Lafayette), and could be the first true mid-major pick in the top five since Michael Olowokandi of Pacific went No. 1 in 1998.”
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.
Professional Career
Ja was drafted second overall during the 2019 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. On July 2, 2019, he signed a four-year contract worth $39.6 million with the Grizzlies. At the end of the season, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year and earned the NBA All-Rookie First Team honor.
On July 6, 2022, Ja signed a five-year extension with the Grizzlies. The deal includes $193 million of guaranteed money, increasing to $231 million contingent upon his selection to an All-NBA team. On January 29, 2023, Morant put up his seventh career triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists in a 112–100 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.
Ja Morant Net worth
Ja Morant has an estimated net worth of $50 million dollars as of 2023.
Social Media Profiles
Some Lesser Known Facts About Ja Morant
- Morant was born in Dalzell, South Carolina, to Tee and Jamie Morant.
- He 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 his class.
- He left Crestwood High School as its all-time leading scorer (1,679 points). In his last two seasons there, he had averaged 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game.
- In both those years, he had earned South Carolina Class 3A All-State honors. During his high school career, he was also a 3-time All-Region ‘Most Valuable Player’.
- In June 2021, rapper Moneybagg Yo released a song titled Rookie of the Year to celebrate Ja being named the NBA Rookie of the Year.
- On March 4 2023, it was revealed that the NBA had launched an investigation into an Instagram Live video of Morant displaying a gun at a Colorado nightclub earlier that morning, just hours after a loss to the top-seeded Denver Nuggets.
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