Johnathan Landus Motley (born May 4, 1995) is an American 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 for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Ligat HaAl and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only three private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior t ...

, where he was a consensus second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

as a junior.

High school career

Motley played high school basketball at North Shore High School in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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.

College career

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. At the close of the season, Motley was named the winner of the Karl Malone Award as the country's best college power forward. At the close of his junior season, Motley declared his eligibility for the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

but did not hire an agent, leaving open the option to return to college. 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

Dallas Mavericks (2017–2018)

After going undrafted in

, Motley signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. 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 The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

. 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 The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. On April 4, 2018, he scored a career high 26 points in a 106–113 loss to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

Los Angeles Clippers (2018–2020)

On July 23, 2018, Motley, along with the draft rights to Renaldas Seibutis, was traded to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

in exchange for the draft rights to Maarty Leunen and cash considerations. 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 but the Clippers eventually re-signed him on July 25, 2019. On November 30, 2020, Motley signed a training camp deal with the

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 ...

, but was waived on December 19.

Incheon ET Land Elephants (2021)

On February 10, 2021, Motley signed with the

Incheon ET Land Elephants The Daegu KOGAS Pegasus () is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). Founded in 1994, the team has been playing in the KBL since the inaugurate 1997 season. Since 2021, the club is based at Daegu Gymnasium in Daegu ...

of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

(KBL), where he averaged 20.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 blocks.

Lokomotiv Kuban (2021–2022)

On August 3, 2021, Motley signed with Lokomotiv Kuban of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

and the 7DAYS EuroCup. He left the team after the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Fenerbahçe Beko (2022–2024)

On June 20, 2022, Motley signed with Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish

Basketball Super League 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 ...

(BSL), his first

club. He awarded EuroLeague MVP of the Round 19 with 22 points and 17 rebounds of 38 PIR.

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2024–present)

On June 25, 2024, he signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

. 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.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 11 , , 4 , , 16.0 , , .533 , , .167 , , .536 , , 4.5 , , .6 , , .3 , , .2 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 22 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .534 , , .000 , , .600 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 13 , , 0 , , 3.2 , , .733 , , 1.000 , , .714 , , .8 , , .6 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 46 , , 4 , , 8.1 , , .552 , , .200 , , .587 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 4.9

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Fenerbahçe , 36 , , 25 , , 23.3 , , .609 , , .231 , , .684 , , 5.4 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .4 , , 14.5 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , 36 , , 19 , , 18.7 , , .648 , , .250 , , .709 , , 4.2 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .2 , , 11.2 , , 12.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 72 , , 44 , , 21.0 , , .625 , , .235 , , .696 , , 4.8 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .3 , , 12.8 , , 14.1

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", Lokomotiv Kuban , 9 , , 9 , , 26.8 , , .628 , , .333 , , .734 , , 7.0 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .8 , , ''21.2'' , , 23.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2024–25† , style="text-align:left;", Hapoel Tel Aviv , 20 , , 20 , , 25.8 , , .600 , , .429 , , .691 , , 4.8 , , 2.5 , , .4 , , .5 , , 16.7 , , 19.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 29 , , 29 , , 26.1 , , .616 , , .385 , , .706 , , 5.5 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , .6 , , 18.1 , , 20.8

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", G League , , 34 , , 32.5 , , .565 , , .280 , , .698 , , 9.8 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , 22.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;", A. C. Clippers , , style="text-align:center;", G League , , 27 , , 34.2 , , .553 , , .296 , , .701 , , 10.0 , , 3.2 , , .6 , , .9 , , 24.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , , style="text-align:left;", A. C. Clippers , , style="text-align:center;", G League , , 26 , , 33.0 , , .518 , , .356 , , .753 , , 7.9 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , 24.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , , style="text-align:left;", Incheon Elephants , , style="text-align:center;", KBL , , 24 , , 25.6 , , .534 , , .347 , , .722 , , 8.9 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , 1.4 , , 20.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;", Lokomotiv Kuban , , style="text-align:center;", VTBUL , , 14 , , 30.2 , , .589 , , .333 , , .798 , , 7.6 , , 2.4 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 19.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 33 , , 23.4 , , .621 , , .200 , , .703 , , 5.8 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .6 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2023–24† , , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 19 , , 20.1 , , .638 , , .250 , , .727 , , 4.9 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .6 , , 14.5

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Baylor , 34 , , 34 , , 21.5 , , .431 , , .200 , , .625 , , 4.2 , , .7 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Baylor , 34 , , 9 , , 20.9 , , .619 , , .0 , , .607 , , 5.1 , , .9 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Baylor , 34 , , 34 , , 30.5 , , .541 , , .273 , , .699 , , 9.9 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 17.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 102 , , 77 , , 24.3 , , .535 , , .240 , , .654 , , 6.4 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 1.2 , , 12.0

References

External links

Baylor Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motley, Johnathan 1995 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen Agua Caliente Clippers players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in Turkey Basketball players from Houston Baylor Bears men's basketball players Daegu KOGAS Pegasus players Dallas Mavericks players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Los Angeles Clippers players North Shore Senior High School (Texas) alumni PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban players Power forwards Texas Legends players Undrafted NBA players