Former NBA guard Darius Morris dies at 33
Darius Morris was the Los Angeles Lakers’ second-round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft out of Michigan. (Photo by Greg Nelson /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Former NBA guard Darius Morris has died at the age of 33. The news was reported by The Athletic’s Sham Charania.
During his four-year NBA career, Morris played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets. He was selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft (No. 41 overall) out of Michigan.
A 6-foot-4 point guard, Morris averaged 3.3 points and 1.1 assists per game. His best season was the 2013-14 campaign in which he scored 6.9 points per game with 2.6 assists, shooting 42 percent on 3-pointers.
Additionally, Morris played for the Los Angeles D-Fenders (now the South Bay Lakers), Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He also played professionally in China, Russia and France.
Morris had a standout career at Michigan from 2009-11. In his sophomore season under coach John Beilein, he tallied 235 assists, the fourth-highest total in school history. With that, Morris became only the fifth player in school history with 200 or more in a season.
That performance earned Morris All-Big Ten third-team honors. The 2010-11 Wolverines advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Duke.
Morris’ cause of death has not been reported.