Ja Morant Biography

Ja Morant was born Temetrius Jamel Morant, on August 10, 1999, in Dalzell, South Carolina, US, to Tee and Jamie Morant. He grew up with his younger sister, Teniya, who now plays basketball for Hill Crest Middle School.

Morant’s mother was a high school point guard and a college softball player. His father played basketball for Claflin University.

Morant’s father, Tee, played semi-professionally briefly but had to sacrifice his dreams of going professional overseas, when his wife became pregnant with their son. Tee eventually become a barber to support his family.

Morant initially played in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), representing the South Carolina Hornets. He then attended Crestwood High School and played basketball for them. By the time he graduated, he became the all-time leading scorer, with 1,679 points. Morant had also scored a career-high 47 points.

In his final two seasons for Crestwood, his average of 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game fetched him the South Carolina 3A All-State honors twice. By the time he left high school, he was also a 3-time time all region MVP.

Following his high school graduation, Morant joined Murray State University, in Murray, Kentucky. From 2017 to 2019, he played for the Murray State Racers basketball team.

Earlier, Murray State assistant coach James Kane, impressed by his skills, decided to tell head coach Matt McMahon about his find. McMahon arranged a full athletic scholarship from Murray State for Morant.

Morant scored his first triple double a month after his debut. Surprisingly, this was the second triple double in the history of Murray State. Morant finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists and became the seventh freshman in more than 2 and a half decades to score 150 rebounds, 150 assists, and 10 blocks.

In 2018, he became one of only 20 players who were invited to Chris Paul's Elite Guard Camp. During his sophomore season, Morant led Murray State, as many key players had left. In Morant’s season debut, he scored 26 points and 11 assists in a win against Wright State.

On November 24, 2018, he scored 29 points, 13 rebounds (season-high), and 12 assists in a win over Missouri State. He thus scripted history as the first player from Murray State to score multiple triple-doubles.

In the next game, Morant scored a season-high 38 points, but the team lost to Alabama. By December 2018, he was considered a top-five probable selection in the 2019 NBA Draft.

After his team lost in the 2019 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) men’s basketball championship, Morant declared he wished to relinquish his last 2 seasons of collegiate eligibility and try for the 2019 NBA Draft instead.

During his stint at Murray State, he became the only sophomore player to score more than 20 points and over 10 assists per game in a single season. He was also the first NCAA Division I men's player in over 20 years to score at least 40 points, 10 assists, and 5 steals, all in a single game. During his 2018-2019 sophomore season, Morant was the first Murray State player to score multiple triple-doubles.

In the 2019 NBA Draft, Ja Morant was selected as a second pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. He scored his first career double-double 21 days after making his debut with them.

The point guard also scored his first triple double just 90 days after his double-double. He won the Rookie of the Year honor, with his 7.1 assists and 17.8 points per game.

Just 10 months later, in his first season, Morant scored his then career-high of 44 points apart from 9 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, playing against the San Antonio Spurs. Morant also appeared in his first playoff during this season. He scored 35 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists to defeat the Golden State Warriors and bag his team’s first post-season spot in 4 seasons.

In his first playoff appearance, Morant scored 26 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists and helped the Grizzlies win over the Utah Jazz. In the next game, Morant scored 47 points and 7 assists, but his team lost.

In his second season, Morant started with a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, with his 37 points and 6 assists. He also played in two 41-point season-high games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Spurs.

He then bagged his first All Star game. A year after scoring his first triple-double, Morant set a then career-high of 46 points, which was also the highest number of points scored by any Grizzlies player back then.

On February 28, 2022, just over a year after recording his first career-high score, he broke it by scoring 52 points and a 22-of-30 shooting, playing against the Spurs. He was named the Most Improved Player that season. In the fifth match of round 1 of the playoffs, Morant scored a match-winning 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists, against the Minnesota TimberWolves.

In round 2 of the play-offs, the Grizzlies faced the Golden State Warriors. Morant recorded a playoff career-high score of 47 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals and defeated the Warriors.

Morant also became the third NBA player in playoffs history to play in multiple 45-point games before turning 23, joining the league of basketball legends such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. However, he got injured, leading to the loss of his team in 6 games.

Apart from the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year and 2022 NBA Most Improved Player honors, he has won honors such as the Lute Olson Award (2019), and the Bob Cousy Award (2019), the NBA All-Rookie First Team (2020), the NBA All Star (2022), and the All-NBA Second Team (2022).

Ja Morant has a daughter named Kaari Jaidyn Morant with his girlfriend, Kadre ‘KK’ Dixon. Kaari was born on August 7, 2019. Morant and his girlfriend run a joint Instagram account dedicated to their daughter.

Kadre has played volleyball and basketball for Nashville’s Fisk University and currently owns Dixon Brands LLC. She has also penned a children’s book.

Ja Morant met Kadre when they were college freshmen. They began dating in 2017 and made their relationship official in 2018.

Known for his signature goatee and center-parted dreadlocks, Morant is also fond of tattoos and sports multiple tattoos on his arms and upper chest. He has also tattooed the phrase “beneath no one,” an advice given by his mother, on his left arm. In 2022, he was rumored to be dating TV personality Johanna Leia, but there has been no confirmation of this news.

Rapper Moneybagg Yo’s 2021 track Rookie of the Year was about Morant. The 2021 documentary Promiseland, too, focused on Morant’s debut NBA season.