Ja Morant's Real Name: Ja Morant

Quick answer: The guard is known professionally as Ja Morant. NBA.com and ESPN independently list an August 10, 1999, birth date. ESPN lists Dalzell, South Carolina, as his birthplace. This page titles him under the public name.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers identify him under the professional name Ja Morant. NBA.com lists the birth date as August 10, 1999, lists a U.S. country designation, and says he last attended Murray State. ESPN independently lists the birth date as August 10, 1999, the birthplace as Dalzell, South Carolina, and Murray State as his college. The NBA.com profile also lists him as a guard wearing No. 1 for Portland, and ESPN independently lists the same height and weight and identifies his current team as the Trail Blazers. ESPN also lists his 2026-27 status as out at the time of that profile.

Career highlights

ESPN says he was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft, second overall, by the Memphis Grizzlies, and later records the 2020 Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie first-team honors, a 2022 Most Improved Player award, and 2022 All-NBA second-team recognition. The same ESPN biography also lists college honors from Murray State, including the 2019 Bob Cousy Award and first-team AP All-America recognition. NBA.com independently lists the 2019 first-round, second-overall draft, Rookie of the Year, an All-Rookie team honor, Most Improved Player, All-NBA recognition, and two NBA All-Star selections. ESPN lists his career history with the Grizzlies from 2019 to 2026 and the Portland Trail Blazers beginning in 2026, and NBA.com independently lists him with Portland. Murray State Athletics, in a 2024 Hall of Fame biography, says he played two seasons for the Racers, 2017-19, averaged 24.5 points and 10.0 assists in 2018-19, and had his No. 12 jersey retired at the CFSB Center on February 2, 2020. On the 2019 draft, that Hall of Fame page says the Memphis Grizzlies selected him as the No. 3 pick on June 20, 2019. NBA.com and ESPN independently list the selection as first-round, second overall.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Ja Morant are looking for the same guard, including the Murray State career and the Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers work most often associated with his name. This page uses the public professional name. Search traffic often uses the professional name Ja Morant alone in many lookups.