Johnathan Motley

Johnathan Landus Motley Harvey (born May 4, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Crvena zvezda of the ABA League, the Serbian KLS, and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears, where he was a consensus second-team All-American as a junior.

Professional career Hapoel Tel Aviv (2024–2026) In July 2024, Motley signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv. He enjoyed a highly successful stint with the Israeli club, leading them to the EuroCup title in 2025 while being named the EuroCup Finals MVP and earning a spot on the All-EuroCup First Team.

Crvena zvezda (2026–present) On July 16, 2026, Motley officially signed with Serbian powerhouse Crvena zvezda ahead of the 2026–27 season, marking his return to the EuroLeague.

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.

Before his junior year of high school, Motley faced a life-threatening setback when his appendix burst. He spent 18 days at Texas Children's Hospital. During his recovery, he lost a significant amount of weight.

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 (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 got 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 (2018–2020) 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.

On November 30, 2020, Motley signed a training camp deal with the Phoenix Suns, but was waived on December 19.

Incheon ET Land Elephants (2021) On February 10, 2021, Motley signed with the Incheon ET Land Elephants of the Korean Basketball League (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 and the 7DAYS EuroCup.

Fenerbahçe Beko (2022–2024) On June 20, 2022, Motley signed with Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL), his first EuroLeague 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.

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

EuroLeague

EuroCup † Denotes seasons in which Motley won the EuroCup

Domestic leagues † Denotes seasons in which Motley won the league Year Team League

College