The Los Angeles Lakers organization is known to be a family with former players, coaches and executives welcome back to Crypto.com Arena at any time. Anyone who attends a Lakers game is likely to see former players walking the concourse and greeting fans at any point.
Because of how close everyone in the Lakers organization is, it makes news like Saturday’s even tougher to digest.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, former Lakers guard Darius Morris has passed away at the age of 33:
Four-year NBA veteran Darius Morris has passed away at the age of 33. Morris played for the Lakers, 76ers, Clippers, Grizzlies and Nets from 2011-2015.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 4, 2024
The cause of Morris’ death is not known, but one thing that is for sure is that 33 is too young for anyone to be passing away, making this even more tragic.
Morris was born in 1991 in Los Angeles and grew up in Carson, where he attended high school at Windward School. He won a California State Title in his senior season before going on to Michigan, where he played for three years. He set the Wolverines’ single-season assist record in his final season in 2011.
The Lakers wound up bringing Morris back home when they drafted him with the 41st overall pick in the second round in 2011. He played parts of two seasons with the Lakers, sharing a backcourt with Kobe Bryant and even starting some postseason games after the legend got injured in 2013.
Although they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, Morris got his first opportunity on the big postseason stage due to injuries and made the most of it, averaging 10.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 26.2 minutes per game.
Who did Darius Morris play for other than Lakers?
Morris would go on to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets in his four-year NBA career. Overall in 132 NBA games, Morris averaged 3.3 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 11.1 minutes per game.
He would then play in the G League and overseas with stops in China, Russia and France before officially calling it a career in 2020.
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