During his postgame interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews, Ja gave his jersey to Mr. [33] 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. 8 seed and snap a four-year playoff drought. Here's what you need to know about the dad of the newest star of March Madness. II Claflin University. The song reflects on Morant's "underdog mentality and praises his risefrom a little known college freshman to being named NBA Rookie of the Year in 201920". It was the first postseason triple-double in Grizzlies franchise history. FirstSportz is the First Stop for all sports fanatics. Morant, a Dalzell, South Carolina native, wanted to play high-level college basketball, but his father, Tee, not a bad hooper in his own right, realized it was about being wanted rather than wanting yourself. Also, some of the fans took a dig at him as they considered him just a supporter father who is getting all the hype due to his newfound fame. While growing up, the young lad enjoyed playing basketball with his sister, Teniya Morant, in the backyard. He said Jas tireless work ethic in high school directly correlated to his success on the court. He has a sister who is also a basketball player. [1], 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. He was born to Tee and Jamie Morant alongside his younger sister, Teniya. In September 2016, Morant officially committed to the Murray State University Racers. Morant has been a natural athlete since he was a child. Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 14:09, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, United States Basketball Writers Association, "Ja Morant, Murray State's High-Flying Star, Is No Longer College Hoops's Best Kept Secret", "MikeCheck: Morant makes dominant first impression at Chicago's NBA Lottery, Combine", "Ja Morant: Point God from the back road", "Who's Ja Morant? [57], 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 117112 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors, securing the Grizzlies first postseason berth in four seasons. Tee grabbed the media's attention when he sat next to famous American singer Usher. According to the father of two, his little girl is easier to train than her big brother. Thats my motivation, Morant said. He also finds himself high up on NBA Draft boards. How tall is Ja Morant? Ja's father quit basketball after Ja's mother, Jamie Morant, got pregnant with Ja Blake Sandlin/TheNews Tee Morant played basketball alongside NBA legend Ray Allen at Hillcrest High in Dalzell. [64], On January 26, Morant tied his season-high 41 points, alongside 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals in a 118110 win against the San Antonio Spurs. Currently, he has a deal of $39,619,840 with the Memphis Grizzlies. Murray State's Ja Morant", "Court Report: The real story of Ja Morant and Zion Williamson playing on the same AAU team", "2019 Draft Primer: Ja Morant, The Ultimate Sleeper", "Once a little-known prospect, Morant has everyone's attention now", "From Tee to Ja: Morant finishing what his father started", "Racers Lockdown Brescia - Hawkins On Fire With 28 Points", "Racers Can't Make Fast Start Last At Saint Louis", "Morant's Triple-Double Leads Racers Past EIU", "55-Point Second Half Leads Racers To 4th Straight Win", "Men's Basketball vs West Virginia on 3/16/2018 - Box Score", "Next task for the Aces? However, it is obvious that they started dating way back in school. Facebook His only purpose was to inject his ambitious pedigree into Ja without the negative traits that cut his career short. Grizzlies' Ja Morant: Forgettable night in narrow loss. We didn't see Towns Sr. wear the jersey, but he did hold onto it and congratulated the Morants on the first-round series win. [1] Morant's favorite artist is rapper Lil Baby. He went on to play on the Amateur Athletic Union . [77] 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 106101 win over the Golden State Warriors. [17], On November 10, 2017, Morant debuted for Murray State with 7 points and a team-high 11 assists in a 11861 victory over Brescia University of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Again, Ja Morants dad has demonstrated that he is the kind of man that would always come to the defense of his spouse. ! Lakers star LeBron James hypes Liverpools semi-final triumph over Villarreal in Champions League, Do follow us onGoogle News|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter. He broke the school single-season assist record of 212 set by Chad Townsend in the 199697 season. The little girl, Kaari Jaidyn Morant, is a great source of joy to her grandparents, who never miss an opportunity to dote on her. But he started working at a Barbershop citing the birth of Ja. His father was also a basketball player and taught his son to play basketball. After being evicted from the arena and banned for life, Ryan Smith (the owner of Jazz) offered Tee and his household free courtside seats, lodging, and car services for Game 5. [34] 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. But then, Morant said, his mom told his dad she was pregnant . 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. Jamie Morant, Ja Morants mother, was born just before the yuletide on the 20th of December 1975. He also played college basketball for Claflin University. Back in the late 90s, Edwards led the Hillcrest program. They should try out a twin situation where Usher goes to a Grizz game as Tee to see if anyone notices. 16d; 0:18. Morant trained in his backyard with his father and sister daily, striving to be an NBA player. In his second season at Murray State University, the 22-year-old became the first player in NCAA history to average 20 or more points and 10 or more assists per game. [93] On June 3, Morant released a six-episode documentary, Promiseland, focusing on his first NBA season. It is also unknown if she is an only child or grew up with siblings. Morant has referred to his father as his biggest hater on multiple occasions, but his dad's criticism in jest is what helped him go from 0-star recruit to Murray State phenom to NBA superstar (something Tee would never call him in a million years). Like when he publicly supported his son's case to go first overall ahead of Zion Williamson in the 2019 NBA Draft. [27] On November 24, 2018, Morant posted 29 points, a season-high 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in a 7766 win over Missouri State, becoming the first Murray State player to ever record multiple triple-doubles. As for his son, who has NBA Rookie of the Year, NBA Most Improved Player awards and a Nike Signature shoe deal to his name? In Friday's game between the LA Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, Tee leveled up and got into it with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe. Ja's father, Tee Morant, was a high school teammate of Ray Allen. Heres what you need to know: According to The Big Lead, Tee Morant played high school basketball alongside Ray Allen at Hillcrest High in Dalzell (S.C.). "[1] His other Division I offers included Duquesne, Maryland Eastern Shore, South Carolina State, and Wofford. 2 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. Ja Morant finished his high school career playing at Crestwood High School, earning All-Region Most Valuable Player three times and earning All-State honors. No Ja Morant's father Jamie did not play basketball. [9], Morant attended Crestwood High School in Sumter, South Carolina. He then laced up for the Claflin University Panthers in Orangeburg (S.C.). July 7, 2021 by Steve DelVecchio Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is one of the best young players in the NBA, and just about anyone who follows basketball could tell you that. [93], 202122 season: First All-Star and All-NBA selections, Forde did not consider two top-five selections between 1998 and 2018 from schools outside the. Ja took the court for warm-ups about 45 minutes before Game 3 began. Just trying to wrap up the night & was not prepared for Tee Morant to ask me to do an interview. He was born in Dalzell, South Carolina. Despite Ja turning professional, he still can't escape his father's criticism. According to Edwards, Ja has some great work ethics that set him apart from others. Teniya Morant is a basketball player. Ja Morant with his Father Ja Morant's mother's name is Jamie Morant who was a point guard by profession. The future lottery picks each had commutes of roughly 45 minutes to Columbia. He was born on the 10th of August 1999 to his father, Tee Morant, and mother, Jamie Morant, in Dalzell, South Carolina. [30] 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. The singer attended the Game 5 matchupof the Grizzlies/Wolves series in Memphis, where he sat next to Tee, to debunk the rumors himself. When Ja Morant was a little boy, his father, Tee, personally put him through what he called "TTG camp" in their backyard in South Carolina. Before the start of the second half, it was revealed on the ESPN broadcast that Tee Morant was all good. Family background for Ja Morants father has been elusive to the media but going by the titbits we could sieve from kept records, Tees mother goes by the name, Linda Mama Lin Smalley. We must also acknowledge the role Tee played when Ja Morant couldnt get a team to recruit him despite posting notable statistics. During his formative years, he also played basketball but couldn't make it to the big leagues, which he has achieved through his . Can you ask coach Brown? Wed finish up, then hed go to the backyard with his daddy and shoot some more.. Tee said, The negative things I had in me, I wanted to keep out of him, as far as the going out and all that. 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