Johnathan Landus Motley (born May 4, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroCup. He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears, where he was a consensus second-team All-American as a junior.

Johnathan Motley
Motley with Fenerbahçe Beko in 2022
Free agent
PositionCenter / power forward
Personal information
Born (1995-05-04) May 4, 1995 (age 29)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolNorth Shore (Houston, Texas)
CollegeBaylor (2014–2017)
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018Dallas Mavericks
2017–2018Texas Legends
20182020Los Angeles Clippers
2018–2020Agua Caliente Clippers
2021Incheon ET Land Elephants
2021–2022Lokomotiv Kuban
2022–2024Fenerbahçe Beko
2024Hapoel Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school career

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Motley played high school basketball at North Shore High School in Houston, Texas under head coach David Green. He led his team to a 32–4 mark as a junior and a 30–5 mark in as a senior, winning back to back district championships. A top 100 recruit nationally, Motley committed to play at Baylor on September 12, 2012.[1]

College career

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Motley with the Baylor Bears in 2017

Motley blossomed into an All-American player as a junior for Baylor, leading the Bears to their first number one ranking as a program during the 2016–17 season.[2] At the close of the season, Motley was named the winner of the Karl Malone Award as the country's best college power forward.[3]

At the close of his junior season, Motley declared his eligibility for the 2017 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, leaving open the option to return to college.[4] He would later hire an agent before signing up for the 2017 NBA Draft Combine, thus ending any chances of returning for his senior year at Baylor.

Professional career

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Dallas Mavericks (2017–2018)

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After going undrafted in 2017 NBA draft, Motley signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks.[5] He became the first player in franchise history to sign such a deal. As a result, he got to split his time playing between the Mavericks and their G League affiliate, the Texas Legends. After recovering from a previous injury he had, Motley would make his official NBA debut on December 14, 2017, recording 4 points in two minutes under a 112–97 loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors. On April 4, 2018, he scored a career high 26 points in a 106–113 loss to the Detroit Pistons.[6]

Los Angeles Clippers (2018–2020)

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On July 23, 2018, Motley, along with the draft rights to Renaldas Seibutis, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Maarty Leunen and cash considerations.[7] He would be the league's first ever two-way contract to be traded to another team. Motley would become an unrestricted free agent on June 28, 2019[8] but the Clippers eventually re-signed him on July 25, 2019.[9]

On November 30, 2020, Motley signed a training camp deal with the Phoenix Suns,[10] but was waived on December 19.[11]

Incheon ET Land Elephants (2021)

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On February 28, 2021, Motley signed with Incheon ET Land Elephants of the Korean Basketball League[12] where he averaged 20.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 blocks.[13]

Lokomotiv Kuban (2021–2022)

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On August 3, 2021, Motley signed with Lokomotiv Kuban of the VTB United League and the 7DAYS EuroCup.[13] He left the team after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[14]

Fenerbahçe Beko (2022–2024)

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On June 20, 2022, Motley signed with Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL), his first EuroLeague club.[15] He awarded EuroLeague MVP of the Round 19 with 22 points and 17 rebounds of 38 PIR.[16]

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2024)

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On June 25, 2024, he signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[17]

In October 2024, Motley was named MVP of Round 3 of the 2024 BKT EuroCup. He scored 24 points, 6 rebounds and had 4 assists.[18]

Career statistics

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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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Dallas 11 4 16.0 .533 .167 .536 4.5 .6 .3 .2 8.7
2018–19 L.A. Clippers 22 0 7.1 .534 .000 .600 2.3 .5 .2 .1 4.6
2019–20 L.A. Clippers 13 0 3.2 .733 1.000 .714 .8 .6 .2 .0 2.2
Career 46 4 8.1 .552 .200 .587 2.4 .6 .2 .1 4.9

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2022–23 Fenerbahçe 36 25 23.3 .609 .231 .684 5.4 1.6 .6 .4 14.5 16.0
2023–24 36 19 18.7 .648 .250 .709 4.2 1.1 .2 .2 11.2 12.2
Career 72 44 21.0 .625 .235 .696 4.8 1.3 .4 .3 12.8 14.1

EuroCup

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2021–22 Lokomotiv Kuban 9 9 26.8 .628 .333 .734 7.0 1.3 .9 1.1 21.2 23.9
Career 9 9 26.8 .628 .333 .734 7.0 1.3 .9 1.1 21.2 23.9

Domestic leagues

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Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18   Texas Legends G League 34 32.5 .565 .280 .698 9.8 2.0 .9 1.1 22.2
2018–19   A. C. Clippers G League 27 34.2 .553 .296 .701 10.0 3.2 .6 .9 24.5
2019–20   A. C. Clippers G League 26 33.0 .518 .356 .753 7.9 2.8 .7 1.0 24.0
2020–21   Incheon Elephants KBL 24 25.6 .534 .347 .722 8.9 3.2 .7 1.4 20.7
2021–22   Lokomotiv Kuban VTBUL 14 30.2 .589 .333 .798 7.6 2.4 1.3 1.1 19.4
2022–23   Fenerbahçe TBSL 33 23.4 .621 .200 .703 5.8 1.6 .4 .6 15.4
2023–24   Fenerbahçe TBSL 19 20.1 .638 .250 .727 4.9 1.7 .4 .6 14.5

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Baylor 34 34 21.5 .431 .200 .625 4.2 .7 .4 1.4 7.7
2015–16 Baylor 34 9 20.9 .619 .0 .607 5.1 .9 .5 1.1 11.1
2016–17 Baylor 34 34 30.5 .541 .273 .699 9.9 2.3 .4 1.1 17.3
Career 102 77 24.3 .535 .240 .654 6.4 1.3 .4 1.2 12.0

References

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  1. ^ "Baylor University 2016-17 Men's Basketball Roster". baylorbears.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Brian (March 22, 2017). "Erratic no more: How Johnathan Motley became the centerpiece Baylor needed". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  3. ^ Grosbard, Adam. "Baylor's Johnathan Motley wins Karl Malone Award as nation's best power forward". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  4. ^ "Baylor's Motley puts name in NBA draft without hiring agent". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  5. ^ Karalla, Bobby (July 3, 2017). "Mavericks sign Johnathan Motley to two-way contract". NBA.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  6. ^ "Jackson scores 24 as Pistons beat Mavericks 113-106 in OT". NBA.com. April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "Press Release: L.A. Clippers Acquire Two-Way Forward Johnathan Motley". NBA.com. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  8. ^ "NBAREPORT: Clippers decline qualifying offer for Johnathan Motley". clutchpoints.com. June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  9. ^ "Report: Clippers re-sign Johnathan Motley to 2-way contract". clutchpoints.com. July 25, 2019.
  10. ^ "SUNS SIGN MOORE, GALLOWAY, & JONES". NBA.com. November 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Adams, Luke (December 19, 2020). "Suns Release Johnathan Motley". HoopsRumors.com.
  12. ^ Skerletic, Dario (February 28, 2021). "Johnathan Motley joins Incheon Land Elephants". Sportando.basketball. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Carchia, Emiliano (August 3, 2021). "Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar lands Johnathan Motley". Sportando.basketball. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "Leave or stay: American players in Russia". basketnews.com.
  15. ^ "Johnathan Motley Fenerbahçe Beko'da" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe. June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  16. ^ "Round 19 MVP: Johnathan Motley, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul" (in Turkish). EuroLeague. January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  17. ^ "Hapoel Tel Aviv officially signs Johnathan Motley". Sportando. June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  18. ^ "Johnathan Motley named MVP of the BKT EuroCup Round 3". Eurohoops. October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
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