Johnathan Motley


Johnathan Landus Motley is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association, on a two-way contract with the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears, where he was a consensus second-team All-American as a junior.

High school career

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.

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 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 / Texas Legends (2017-2018)

After going undrafted in 2017 NBA Draft, Motley signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks. He became the first player in franchise history to sign such a deal. As a result, he gets 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.

Los Angeles Clippers (2018-present)

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. 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.

NBA career statistics

Regular season