Monté Morris

This article is about the American basketball player. For the American rugby union player, see Laird Morris.

Monté Robert Morris (/ˈmɒnteɪ/ MON-tay;^[1] born June 27, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones.

Monté Morris

Morris with the Washington Wizards in 2022
No. 23 – Phoenix Suns
Position	Point guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1995-06-27) June 27, 1995 (age 29) Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	183 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High school	Flint Beecher (Flint, Michigan)
College	Iowa State (2013–2017)
NBA draft	2017: 2nd round, 51st overall pick
Drafted by	Denver Nuggets
Playing career	2017–present
Career history
2017–2022	Denver Nuggets
2017–2018	→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2022–2023	Washington Wizards
2023–2024	Detroit Pistons
2024	Minnesota Timberwolves
2024–present	Phoenix Suns
Career highlights
First-team All-Big 12 (2017) 2× Second-team All-Big 12 (2015, 2016) First-team Parade All-American (2013) Michigan Mr. Basketball (2013)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Early life

Morris was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and his mother is Latonia Morris. His mother nicknamed him "Man-Man" when he was born.^[2] He grew up in Flint, Michigan attending Flint Beecher High School. Morris was childhood friends with future NBA player and later NBA teammate, Kyle Kuzma, as both attended Dailey Elementary School.^[3] He was a four-year starter for the Beecher Buccaneers. Morris was a three-time winner of Michigan's Associated Press Class C Player of the Year Award and a three time all-state selection.^[4] He led the Buccaneers in scoring, assists, and steals in all four seasons. He led Flint Beecher to back-to-back Class C Michigan state titles in 2012 and 2013. One of the nation's best point guards, Morris won Michigan's Mr. Basketball award in 2013.^[5]

He was ranked No. 96^[6] in the final Rivals.com national rankings and No. 89 in the Scout.com ratings as well as being a Parade All-American.^[7] Morris was recruited to Butler, Illinois, Indiana, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, USC, and Iowa State which he ultimately committed to.

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Monte Morris G	Flint, MI	Flint Beecher (MI)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jun 27, 2012
	Recruit ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:   ESPN:
Recruit rankings:    Rivals: 96, 21 (G)    ESPN: 84, 4 (MI), 17 (G)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, ESPN, and On3 may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Iowa State 2013 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015. "2013 Iowa State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015.

College career

Freshman season

Morris started the season on the bench but worked his way into the starting line-up against the Oklahoma Sooners on February 1, 2014, staying there ever since. Morris averaged 6.8 points, 3.7 assists, and 2.6 rebounds and dished out 134 assists, the third most by any freshman in school history. He shot 84.7 percent (61–72) at the free-throw line, the second-best mark by an ISU freshman, and was the only Big 12 freshman to make at least 25 threes (28–69) and shoot over 40 percent. He scored double figures in 13 games, including all three games in the NCAA tournament. Morris tallied a season-high 15 points in the Cyclones' NCAA Tournament win against NCCU and followed that with 13 against the North Carolina Tar Heels. He dished out five or more assists in 12 games and led all Big 12 freshmen with 46 steals, the fifth most by an ISU rookie. His 1.3 steals per game ranked seventh in the Big 12, and he had an ISU freshman record of 12 assists with no turnovers against West Virginia. He played 52 minutes of turnover-free basketball in ISU's triple-OT win at Oklahoma State and had 10 points and five assists, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 43 seconds left in the third overtime against the Cowboys. He broke the NCAA record and led the nation with a 4.79 assist-to-turnover ratio, including a 6.9 assist-to-turnover ratio in Big 12 play.^[8]

Sophomore season

Morris in 2016

Morris started all 34 games and averaged 11.9 points, second on the team. He also posted a Big 12-best 5.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds on his way to earning All-Big 12 Second-Team honors. He had second-most assists of any sophomore and 11th-most by any player in school history. Morris was second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage shooting 50.7 percent from the field, had 64 steals, the second-most by a sophomore and tied for the ninth-most by any player in a single season in school history. His 110 steals in the last two seasons were the most by any Big 12 player. His first-career 20-point game came against Texas Tech, he recorded his first double-double and just missed a triple-double with 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds against Kansas.^[9] He tallied a career-high 24 points and hit a buzzer-beating 17-foot fadeaway to beat Texas in Big 12 quarterfinals.^[10] He averaged 15.3 points to earn Big 12 All-Tournament team honors as the Cyclones won the Big 12 tournament for the second consecutive season and he did not commit a turnover in three games at the Big 12 Championship. He led the nation for the second consecutive season with a 4.63 assist-to-turnover ratio and finished season with 176 assists and just 38 turnovers.

Junior season

On February 1, 2016, he was named one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.^[11] He was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the Naismith Trophy on February 11.^[12]

Senior season

Morris competing against Nevada in the NCAA tournament

Morris received preseason recognition on November 2, 2016, as the Associated Press named him to the preseason All-American team.^[13] At the end of his senior season, Morris broke the NCAA record assist-to-turnover ratio from 4.79 he set his freshman year to the new record of 5.21.^[14] In 2017, Morris led Iowa State to a 5th seed in the NCAA tournament and got into the second round before losing to Purdue.

Professional career

Denver Nuggets (2017–2022)

Morris was selected in the second round, 51st pick overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2017 NBA draft. Following the Summer League he signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets. Under the terms of the deal he would split time between the Nuggets and a G League team that would be best designated for him.^[15] For Morris, he was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League on October 23, 2017.^[16] On December 12, 2017, Morris made his NBA debut against the Detroit Pistons. He recorded an assist in three minutes of action. In three games with the Nuggets, he averaged 3.3 points per game. Morris averaged 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game with Rio Grande Valley.^[17]

On December 29, 2020, Morris scored a career-high 24 points in a 125–115 loss to the Sacramento Kings.^[18]

On February 16, 2022, Morris scored 13 points, including a game-winning three-point shot as time expired, in a 117–116 win over the Golden State Warriors.^[19]

Washington Wizards (2022–2023)

On July 6, 2022, Morris was traded, alongside Will Barton, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith.^[20] Morris made his Wizards debut on October 19, recording seven points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals in a 114–107 win over the Indiana Pacers.^[21]

Detroit Pistons (2023–2024)

On July 6, 2023, Morris was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a future second-round pick.^[22] Due to a lengthy recovery from a quadriceps injury to begin the 2023–24 season, Morris played in just six games for the Pistons before being dealt away at the NBA trade deadline.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2024)

On February 8, 2024, Morris was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Troy Brown Jr., Shake Milton and a 2030 second-round pick.^[23]

Phoenix Suns (2024–present)

On July 5, 2024, Morris signed with the Phoenix Suns.^[24]

National team career

On March 20, 2021, Morris committed to play for the Nigerian national team as a naturalized player.^[25]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
*	Led the league

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	Denver	3	0	8.4	.667	.000	1.000	.7	2.3	1.0	.0	3.3
2018–19	Denver	82*	6	24.0	.493	.414	.802	2.4	3.6	.9	.0	10.4
2019–20	Denver	73	12	22.4	.459	.378	.843	1.9	3.5	.8	.2	9.0
2020–21	Denver	47	13	25.5	.481	.381	.795	2.0	3.2	.7	.3	10.2
2021–22	Denver	75	74	29.9	.484	.396	.869	3.0	4.4	.7	.2	12.6
2022–23	Washington	62	61	27.4	.480	.382	.831	3.4	5.3	.7	.2	10.3
2023–24	Detroit	6	0	11.4	.364	.182	.500	2.0	1.3	.2	.2	4.5
	Minnesota	27	0	15.1	.417	.424	.706	1.7	2.3	.7	.3	5.1
Career		375	166	24.6	.477	.391	.824	2.5	3.8	.8	.2	10.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2019	Denver	14	0	16.0	.384	.000	.692	1.4	2.6	.4	.1	5.4
2020	Denver	19	4	21.4	.496	.300	.824	1.5	2.7	.6	.1	9.1
2021	Denver	10	1	28.6	.431	.400	.724	2.4	5.5	1.0	.2	13.7
2022	Denver	5	5	31.1	.490	.423	.750	2.2	5.4	1.2	.0	14.0
2024	Minnesota	9	0	7.4	.300	.071	1.000	.7	1.0	.2	.1	2.3
Career		57	10	20.0	.440	.301	.767	1.6	3.1	.6	.1	8.3

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Iowa State	36	17	28.1	.430	.406	.847	2.6	3.7	1.3	.2	6.8
2014–15	Iowa State	34	34	33.9	.507	.395	.753	3.4	5.2	1.9	.4	11.9
2015–16	Iowa State	35	35	38.0	.487	.358	.729	3.9	6.9	1.8	.3	13.8
2016–17	Iowa State	35	35	35.3	.465	.378	.802	4.8	6.2	1.5	.3	16.4
Career		140	121	33.8	.476	.381	.780	3.7	5.5	1.6	.3	12.2