60 Fun Facts About Ja Morant

What is Ja's full given name?

He was born on August 10, 1999, in Dalzell, South Carolina.

In which state was Morant born and raised?

His hometown of Dalzell is near Sumter, where he attended Crestwood High School.

Morant's father Tee was a high school teammate of which NBA great?

Tee gave up a possible overseas career when Ja was on the way and became a barber.

What did Tee Morant buy so young Ja could practise jumping with a soft landing?

He also taught him step-back jumpers in the backyard.

Which future number one pick was Morant's AAU teammate for a season with the Hornets grassroots team?

Williamson went first and Morant second in the same 2019 draft.

Morant left Crestwood High School as its all-time leading scorer with how many points?

His career high was 47 against Sumter High, and he could not dunk until his senior year.

Morant's only high-major Division I scholarship offer came from which school?

ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals all left him unranked in the class of 2017.

How did Murray State assistant James Kane discover Morant in July 2016?

Kane had come to the camp to watch a different player who was already joining his team.

Who was Morant's head coach at Murray State?

Morant committed over dinner at McMahon's house on September 3, 2016.

Murray State competed in which league during Morant's two seasons there?

Morant was first-team All-OVC as a freshman and OVC Player of the Year as a sophomore; the Racers moved to the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022.

Morant's first triple-double was only Murray State's second ever. Who had the first, in 1984?

Morant later became the first Racer ever to record multiple triple-doubles.

As a sophomore, Morant became the first NCAA player ever to average what for a season?

He finished at 24.5 points, 10 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals a game.

Against SIU Edwardsville in January 2019, Morant went a perfect how many from the free-throw line?

He scored 40 with 11 assists and 5 steals, an OVC record for consecutive free throws in a game.

Morant's 2019 NCAA Tournament triple-double came against which fifth-seeded team?

He was the first player to record one in the tournament since Draymond Green in 2012.

Which fourth-seeded team ended the Racers' 2019 tournament run in the second round?

Morant scored 28 in the 90-62 loss and set school records for career assists and single-season points.

Morant was picked at which spot in the 2019 NBA draft?

He was the highest mid-major pick since Michael Olowokandi went first in 1998.

What was the value of Morant's four-year rookie contract with Memphis?

He signed it on July 2, 2019.

Against which team did Morant make his NBA debut on October 23, 2019?

He had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in a 120-101 loss.

Morant led all rookies in 2019-20 with how many assists per game?

He also led all rookies in total points with 1,138.

Which award did Morant win at the end of the 2019-20 season?

Moneybagg Yo released a song called 'Rookie of the Year' to celebrate.

Which team did Memphis beat in overtime in the 2021 play-in to reach its first playoffs in four years?

Morant had 35 points in the 117-112 win.

How many points did Morant score in Game 2 of his first playoff series, against Utah in 2021?

Memphis still lost 141-129 and fell in five games to the top-seeded Jazz.

Morant's career-high 52 points in February 2022 came against which team?

He shot 22 of 30 and 4 of 4 from three, two nights after scoring 46 against Chicago.

Whose Grizzlies single-game scoring record did Morant break with 46 points in February 2022?

Miller's record had stood since February 2007.

Which two honours did Morant collect in the 2021-22 season?

He was also voted a Western Conference All-Star starter for the first time.

In 2021-22 the Grizzlies won their first ever what?

They also tied the franchise record with 56 wins.

Morant's 16-10-10 line against Minnesota in April 2022 was a Grizzlies milestone in what sense?

He followed it with a game-winning layup with one second left in Game 5.

Which two players did Ja Morant join in 2022 with multiple 45-point playoff games before turning 23?

He scored the last 15 Memphis points in that Game 2 win.

How much guaranteed money was in the five-year extension Morant signed in July 2022?

It could rise to $231 million if he made an All-NBA team.

Whose Grizzlies record for career triple-doubles did Morant pass in December 2022?

He tied it against the Knicks and broke it ten days later against Oklahoma City.

How many shots did Ja Morant make in his 28-point third quarter against the Lakers in February 2023?

He finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his tenth career triple-double.

How many games was Morant suspended for in March 2023 after the Colorado nightclub video?

The ban covered the six games he had already missed on leave.

How long was Morant's second NBA suspension, announced in June 2023?

It was conditional on completing a league-sponsored program; he returned on December 19, 2023, with a game-winner.

Morant's return from suspension in December 2023 ended with a game-winner against which team?

He scored 27 of his 34 points in the second half.

What injury ended Morant's 2023-24 season after only nine games?

He was hurt in a team practice and had season-ending surgery.

In December 2024 Morant said he would stop doing what in games because of injury risk?

He had dunked only four times in twelve appearances that season.

Which coach, Memphis's head coach since 2019, was fired with nine games left in 2024-25?

The team was 44-29 at the time.

Morant was fined how much in April 2025 for repeating gun-aiming gestures after a league warning?

The warning had followed an exchange of gestures with Golden State's Buddy Hield.

Which injury ended Morant's 2025-26 season after just 20 games?

He had played only 79 games across the previous three seasons.

To which team was Morant traded on June 29, 2026?

Memphis received Jerami Grant and Kris Murray in return.

What phrase, advice from his mother, does Morant have tattooed on his left arm?

His athleticism draws comparisons to his favourite player, Russell Westbrook.

What was the title of the six-episode 2021 documentary about Morant's rookie season?

J. Cole also gave him a shout-out on 'My Life' from The Off-Season the same year.

Morant's younger sister Teniya began her college basketball career at which school?

The two grew up playing in the family backyard.

On what day did Nike add Morant to its signature roster and debut the Nike Ja 1?

The launch was timed to the NBA's Christmas showcase, so Morant wore the shoe on national TV the same day Nike put out the release.

Nike described Morant as Nike Basketball's first signature athlete from which generation?

Nike VP Scott Munson framed him as a global star with unmatched athleticism, and the marketing leaned hard on his youth relative to LeBron, KD and Giannis.

What was the starting price of the Nike Ja 1, billed as Nike's most affordable signature shoe?

That undercut every other Nike Basketball signature line at launch, part of a deliberate pitch to younger players and their parents.

Ja Morant's Nike logo places a stylized 'JA' above what shape, suggesting speed and rising above obstacles?

Nike says the mark also nods to the design goal of maximizing hang time and reducing landing force, the two things his game is built on.

Nike designers created a signature colour for the Ja 1 to speak to which mentality that fuels Morant?

The same shoes carry handwritten notes across the colorways acknowledging his family, friends and community, a group he calls Team Morant.

Which cushioning unit sits in the forefoot of the Nike Ja 1 to give a quick, explosive feel underfoot?

The design brief listed three targets: dynamic lockdown, a responsive ride and support for landing, with a raised sidewall guardrail handling the last one.

What was the launch colorway of the Nike Ja 2, inspired by how mesmerizing it is to watch Morant play?

Nike compared watching his dunks and handles to looking up at a night sky, and the shoe launched on SNKRS on September 26 before a global release on October 8.

The Nike Ja 3's micro-traction outsole pattern is inspired by which of Morant's signature moves?

The outsoles also carry two quotes, "A happy Ja is a scary Ja" on the right shoe and "I'm not even worried about proving them wrong" on the left.

Which Nike foam makes up the full-length midsole of the Ja 3, his third signature shoe?

Morant unveiled the shoe on April 20 during the first round of the NBA playoffs, telling designers he wanted something that "talks before I even lace it up."

On the Nike Ja 3, the "1" on the left outsole and the "2" on the right together reference what?

He has worn number 12 since Murray State, and the shoe also hides a vertical Swoosh that forms a "JA" inscription on the lateral side.

Which player did Morant get traded for, along with Kris Murray, when he joined Portland in 2026?

The deal on June 29, 2026 ended a seven-year Memphis tenure marred by injury; he had played only 79 games over the last three seasons.

Which NBA star does Morant call his favourite player because he, too, was overlooked?

Morant's own explosive athleticism draws frequent comparisons to Westbrook's.

Morant made his college debut in November 2017 against which NAIA school, dishing 11 assists?

Murray State won 118-61; his first triple-double came a month later against Eastern Illinois.

Which NBA veteran's Elite Guard Camp invited Morant in the summer of 2018?

He was one of just 20 invitees, calling the camp 'an honor'; by December he was a projected top-five pick.

Morant's college season-high 38 points came in a 2018 loss to which SEC school?

It was the 12th-highest single-game total in Murray State history and came a game after his second triple-double.

Which Pacers guard's exchange with Morant's father sparked the January 2023 postgame confrontation?

Pacers staff later claimed a red laser was pointed at their bus from an SUV carrying Morant; the NBA could not corroborate a threat.

Where did Morant meet Adam Silver in March 2023 after leaving his counselling programme?

Several top NBA executives sat in; the league announced his eight-game suspension the same day.