Christopher Vernard Morris (born January 20, 1966) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. In his 11-season (1988–1999)

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) career, the 6'8"

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

played for the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

, and

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. He is a graduate of Atlanta's Douglass High School where his jersey has been retired, and played collegiately for the Auburn Tigers. He scored 8,184 total points in his NBA career.

Early life

Born in

Dawson, Georgia Dawson is a city in and the county seat of Terrell County, Georgia, Terrell County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Incorporated on December 22, 1857, the city is named for Sena ...

, Morris grew up with his mother and stepfather. His parents divorced, and Morris would often work at his grandmother's farm. Morris graduated from Frederick Douglass High School at Atlanta in 1984 where he led the basketball team to the school's only state championship. Morris was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Georgia and Douglass High School retired his jersey number 34 in 1994.

College career

Morris played basketball at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

from 1984 to 1988. Auburn won the

SEC men's basketball tournament The SEC men's basketball tournament is the conference tournament in basketball for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It is a single-elimination tournament that involves all league schools (currently 16). Its seeding is based on regular season re ...

in 1985. In 1987 and 1988, Morris was a first-team all- SEC pick.

Professional career

NBA

Morris was drafted with the 4th overall pick in

1988 NBA draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their i ...

. He appeared in the 1989

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

, finishing 8th place out of 8 contestants. The following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, Morris started what would be a career-high 76 games while averaging a career-high 14.8 points per game. Morris developed a reputation as a malcontent and "coach killer." While a member of the Nets, he stopped listening to coach

Bill Fitch William Charles Fitch (May 19, 1932 – February 2, 2022) was an American professional basketball coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He developed multiple teams into playoff contenders and won an NBA championship with the Bos ...

and refused to enter a game while the team was trying to make the playoffs. When he later joined the Jazz, he and coach

Jerry Sloan Gerald Eugene Sloan (March 28, 1942 – May 22, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before beginning a 30-year coaching career, 23 of which were spent ...

almost came to blows during practice, and he had to be escorted out of the building by security. On March 2, 1993, with the

, he shattered a backboard with a slam dunk during a regular season game against the Chicago Bulls. With the

, Morris played in the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

1998 NBA Finals The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1997–98 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls ...

. Following the 1998–99 NBA lockout, Morris signed with the

in February 1999.

International

Morris played internationally after 11 seasons with the NBA, starting with

Olympiacos B.C. Olympiacos B.C. (), commonly referred to as Olympiacos and Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional basketball club based in Piraeus, part of the major multi-sport club, Olympiacos CFP. The parent club was founded in 1925, with the basketb ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

in 1999. However, Olympiacos cut Morris due to a knee injury. Morris joined the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

in 2001, and the Southern California Surf of the ABA signed Morris as a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

in April 2002, and Morris later debuted with Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

in July 2002. Morris played with Gaiteros del Zulia of the Venezuelan LPB in the 2003–2004 season.

Lawsuit against Olympiacos

In 2004, Morris won a lawsuit against Olympiacos seeking $1.3 million in owed salary and $400,000 in court costs. US federal judge Christopher A. Boyko permitted American creditors to collect the money in 2009 shortly before Olympiacos visited the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

for an exhibition match.

References

External links

Chris Morris career highs and selected season stats
at NBA.com

at NBA.com
Basketpedya.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Chris 1966 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players American people of Puerto Rican descent Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Basketball players from Atlanta Gaiteros del Zulia players Greek Basket League players Harlem Globetrotters players Magnolia Hotshots players New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players Olympiacos B.C. players Philippine Basketball Association imports Phoenix Suns players Small forwards Utah Jazz players