Meet the Wizards: Monte Morris

Get to know Monte Morris and how he earned the nickname 'Big Game Tae'

Monte Morris is one of the newest members of the Washington Wizards. The five-year NBA veteran was acquired along with Will Barton III in a trade with Denver that sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith to the Nuggets. Here’s a few things to know about Morris.

Quick Facts

Monte Morris was selected 51st overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets. The 6’3 point guard comes to Washington after averaging career-bests of 12.6 points, 4.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 75 games (74 starts) in 2021-22.

In 280 career games (105 starts) with the Nuggets, Morris averaged 10.5 points and 3.7 assists per game on .481 shooting from the field and .394 shooting from three with a 4.8:1 assist to turnover ratio. He has averaged double-digit scoring over each of the past two seasons and has shot at least .450 from the field and .370 from three-point territory in each of the past four.

He ranked 29th in three-point percentage last season (.395) and connected on multiple three-pointers in 36 games. Morris shot a career-best .414 from three-point range in 2018-19, 13th best in the NBA.

Monte Morris (@BigGameTae) going in from behind the arc. Light work. #DCAboveAll pic.twitter.com/URsJeaQD3M

— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) September 24, 2022

Accolades

In March, Morris committed to playing for the Nigerian national team in the Olympics as a naturalized player.

Prior to the NBA, Morris played four years at Iowa State, leaving as the Cyclones winningest player with 100 victories. This is how he earned the nickname 'Big Game Tae': “I hit like three game winners. On campus they just started walking around saying ‘Big Game Tae’ so I changed my Instagram name to it. Then I got to the NBA, hit big shots, and they started saying it in Denver too. It’s kind of catchy. Everybody knows me as that.”

Teammate Shout-Outs

Morris grew up in Flint, MI with fellow Wizard Kyle Kuzma where both were close friends, meeting in elementary school. Although they eventually went to different high schools, this led to Kuzma and Morris competing against each other on the basketball court. Kuzma frequently expresses enthusiasm that he is reunited with his childhood friend.

On the the other end! I get a brother back! Monte and I were in second grade together and at 8 years old we said we would play on the same NBA team together!🤯🤯🤯🤯 LIFE IS A SIMULATION

— kuz (@kylekuzma) June 29, 2022

💯💯💯💯💯 y’all don’t even know the half! This legendary from were we from #Flint https://t.co/moTeOSm42R

— kuz (@kylekuzma) June 29, 2022

Personal Life

A native of Grand Rapids, MI, Morris is of Nigerian descent and the son of Lationa Morris. During his introductory press conference with the Wizards, Morris mentioned the influence of his mom: “She is an amazing woman. She raised me as a single mom and always kept a basketball in my hand. She looks at me when it comes to basketball as a coach, not a mom. She texts me at halftime every game. We have hand signals and stuff like that. There’s the coach side, then there’s the mom side. That’s helped me stay consistent over the years. She played ball as well so she knows what she’s talking about.”