Former Nets Guard, Michigan Star Darius Morris Dies at 33

Rocky Widner_NBAE via Getty Images (1)
Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
Warner Todd Huston

Former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Darius Morris has died at only 33 years of age, his family has confirmed, according to reports.

TMZ Sports reported that Morris’ body was found in L.A. on Thursday. But no further information on his death has been revealed.

Morris’s NBA career was short. The Lakers drafted the native of California in the second round in 2011, but he only stayed with his hometown team for two seasons.

The former player’s family asked for privacy in a statement released on Saturday.

“With great sadness, we announce the passing of our dearly beloved son, Darius Aaron Morris,” the family statement read. “During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”

The Lakers said they were “heartbroken” over the loss.

The 6-foot-4 Morris started his basketball career at the University of Michigan, where he played from 2009 to 2011. In 2010, he had 235 assists, according to the New York Post. That season, Morris became the school’s fifth player with more than 200 or more in a season and had the fourth-highest scoring record. He also had All-Big Ten third-team honors and was on hand in 2011 when the team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Former Michigan head coach John Beilein also commented on the player’s passing.

“He was a leader in that program-changing 21-win season (who) laid the foundation for Michigan’s next decade of success,” Beilein wrote about Morris, according to MLive.com. “RIP D-Mo and condolences to the Morris family.”

Morris only spent two more years in the NBA after leaving the Lakers and went on to play with the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Brooklyn Nets. Over his career, he averaged 3.3 points and 1.1 assists per game, and his best season was with the Sixers when during the 2013-14 season when he scored 6.9 points per game with 2.6 assists, and shot 42 percent on his 3-pointer attempts.

After leaving the NBA, Morris played in China, Russia, and France, and he also played for the L.A. D-Fenders, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA’s G League. He retired in 2020.

Morris was arrested in 2020 and charged with beating his girlfriend, Kristen Evangeline. She later sued him for sexual assault in 2021, the New York Post reported at the time.

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