<\/p>\n
Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
RIVERDALE, ILL.\u00a0\u2014 Morez Johnson Jr.<\/a> didn\u2019t go back to his elementary school this August solely to host a back-to-school drive in his hometown.\u00a0<\/p>\n There was work to be done. During an early-morning workout at Washington Elementary in\u00a0Riverdale, the 6-10 forward transformed into his alter ego, the one that comes alive on the hardwood. The one most visible after his vicious dunks and eviscerating blocks. He becomes the passionate competitor his parents, coaches and former school administrators barely recognize because of the 20-year-old\u2019s shy nature away from the court.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s like Clark Kent and Superman,\u201d says Tai Streets, who coached Johnson during his senior year at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Ill.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Mavericks’ first-round draft pick Morez Johnson Jr. responds to questions from the media during an introductory press conference at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The Mavericks used the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the last first-rounder they own outright until 2031\u00a0\u2014 on Johnson, the physically gifted but mild-mannered big man who helped Michigan capture a national championship with Dallas\u2019 new head coach, Dusty May<\/a>. They\u2019re banking on Johnson to help turn the franchise<\/a> back into a winning organization.<\/p>\n Morez Johnson Jr., right, poses for a photo with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, left, after being selected by the Dallas Mavericks as the ninth overall pick in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n Yuki Iwamura\/AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. dunks during the second half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Tennessee, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo\/Erin Hooley)<\/p>\n Erin Hooley\/AP Mavericks’ first-round draft pick Morez Johnson Jr. gestures as he responds to questions from the media during an introductory press conference at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News Mavericks’ first-round draft pick Morez Johnson Jr. shakes hands with President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri during an introductory press conference at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News Mavericks’ first-round draft pick Morez Johnson Jr. poses for photos with his jersey during an introductory press conference at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News Dallas Mavericks’ Morez Johnson Jr. shoots against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of an NBA Summer League basketball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n John Locher\/Associated Press Dallas Mavericks first-round draft pick\u00a0Morez Johnson Jr. prepares to throw out the first pitch before the Chicago White Sox faced the New York Mets at Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois on August 23, 2026.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/The Dallas Morning News Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. (14) keeps the ball away from Atlanta Hawks center Jock Landale (31) during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game at American Airlines Center, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. (14) and Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) jump for the opening tipoff during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game at the Venetian Arena on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, in Macao.<\/p>\n El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News Morez Johnson Jr., the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 first-round pick of the 2026\u00a0NBA draft at No. 9, is pictured with Sean Evans, the host of Hot\u00a0Ones, before throwing out the first pitch at a Chicago White Sox game on Aug. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff Morez Johnson Jr., the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 first-round pick of the 2026\u00a0NBA draft at\u00a0No. 9, threw out the first pitch before a\u00a0Chicago White Sox game on\u00a0Aug. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. poses during media day on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News A\u00a0certificate of\u00a0appreciation for Morez Johnson Jr.\u2019s donation of\u00a0school supplies is\u00a0shown at\u00a0Washington Elementary School in\u00a0Riverdale, Ill. The Dallas Mavericks selected Johnson out of\u00a0Michigan with the ninth pick of\u00a0the 2026\u00a0NBA draft.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff Morez Johnson Jr.\u2019s former gym at Washington Elementary School in\u00a0Riverdale, Ill. The Dallas Mavericks selected Johnson out of\u00a0Michigan with the ninth pick of\u00a0the 2026\u00a0NBA draft.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff Items are shown on\u00a0the wall of\u00a0Morez Johnson Jr.\u2019s childhood bedroom at\u00a0his father\u2019s house in\u00a0Homewood, Ill. The Dallas Mavericks selected Johnson out of\u00a0Michigan with the ninth pick of\u00a0the 2026\u00a0NBA draft.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff Items are shown on\u00a0the wall of\u00a0Morez Johnson Jr.\u2019s childhood bedroom at\u00a0his father\u2019s house in\u00a0Homewood, Ill. The Dallas Mavericks selected Johnson out of\u00a0Michigan with the ninth pick of\u00a0the 2026\u00a0NBA draft.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff Morez Johnson Jr., the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 first-round pick of the 2026\u00a0NBA draft at No. 9, is pictured with his girlfriend, Ameera Samone (left), and his sister, Moriah, before throwing out the first pitch at a Chicago White Sox game on Aug. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff Morez Johnson Jr., the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 first-round pick of the 2026\u00a0NBA draft at\u00a0No. 9, threw out the first pitch before a\u00a0Chicago White Sox game on\u00a0Aug. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff<\/p>\n Johnson\u2019s duality was forged not on the streets of Riverdale, but in his childhood home. His parents limited how much time he and his younger sister, Moriah, spent outside\u00a0\u2014 their way of keeping their children safe in a high-crime community of about 10,000 people roughly 20 miles south of Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I grew up, I didn\u2019t have nobody that\u2019s from\u00a0Riverdale that actually made it out and do something successful with their life,\u201d Johnson told The Dallas Morning News. \u201cI want people to know I\u2019m from Riverdale and I could be that model for them and let them know they can do anything they want to do to reach their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Growing up in Riverdale<\/p>\n Mavericks’ first-round draft pick Morez Johnson Jr. poses for photos with his parents Morez Johnson Sr. (left) and Natasha Jones during an introductory press conference at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The soft-spoken boy but relentless competitor once the ball is tipped attended St. Rita of Cascia, an all-boys Catholic high school in Chicago. It was another way Johnson\u2019s parents tried to avoid exposing him to the crime and safety problems in\u00a0Riverdale, where the average of 34.66 crimes per 1,000 residents is more than double the national rate, and where 41.5% of people live below the poverty line.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, it was annoying, not being able to just go to the park with my friends some days,\u201d Johnson said of his parents\u2019 efforts. \u201cWhen I got to high school, I understood why and I was cool with it. I didn\u2019t care anymore. I understood why I couldn\u2019t and I got comfortable with being at home.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson’s father and namesake,\u00a0Morez Johnson Sr., made sure there were plenty of activities for his children to do indoors, whether it was cable television, video games, board games, puzzles or STEM kits, which piqued his son\u2019s curiosity most.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cBeing outside, you tend to run into a lot of stuff,\u201d Johnson Sr. told The News. \u201cWhen you\u2019re bored, you get into trouble. Everything he needed was inside the house.\u201d<\/p>\n On the rare days Johnson Jr. couldn\u2019t find a way inside the gym at Washington, his father would improvise drills in a grassy field across from the small brick house on the corner of 138th Street and Tracey Avenue in Riverdale, where the family lived for more than a decade.<\/p>\n Items are shown in Morez Johnson Jr.\u2019s childhood bedroom at\u00a0his father\u2019s house in\u00a0Homewood, Ill. The Dallas Mavericks selected Johnson out of\u00a0Michigan with the ninth pick of\u00a0the 2026\u00a0NBA draft.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff<\/p>\n Johnson Jr. would often work on defensive slides, setting the foundation for his ability to guard multiple positions. He\u2019d jump on top of large boxes to help his vertical leap, which registered at 39 inches at the NBA draft combine. He practiced his handle by dribbling basketballs covered in plastic grocery bags, a training method his dad picked up from Kyrie Irving, long before they shared the same locker room.<\/p>\n \u201cI pretty much learned everything from him,\u201d Johnson Jr. said of his father, who worked as an AC repairman.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Johnson Sr., known as \u201cBig Rez,\u201d was named by his mother, Florence Wales, who told the origin story of her son and grandson\u2019s name to The News during a family reunion in August.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he was born, he was red,\u201d Wales said. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018Where is this baby coming from? \u2026 He looks like a Mo-rez. My oldest brother\u2019s name is Cortez Morez. So I said, \u2018That\u2019ll fit him perfect.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018Ma, that\u2019s a beautiful name. Nobody has that name. Ima name my son Morez.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n What does Johnson Jr. think about sharing the same name as his dad?<\/p>\n \u201cI really don\u2019t think about it much until I\u2019m at home and people are like, \u2018Lil\u2019 Rez,\u2019 \u201d he told The News. \u201cBut it\u2019s an honor to be named after him.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Johnson Jr.\u2019s grandmother gave The News a tour of his teenage bedroom, the first room at the top of the stairs in his father\u2019s house in Homewood, Ill. The walls display basketball memorabilia, his own and his childhood favorites: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry. The only player missing is Kevin Durant, whom Johnson Jr. has long cited as primary hoops influence.<\/p>\n Items are shown on\u00a0the wall of\u00a0Morez Johnson Jr.\u2019s childhood bedroom at his father\u2019s house in Homewood, Ill. The Dallas Mavericks selected Johnson out of\u00a0Michigan with the ninth pick of\u00a0the 2026\u00a0NBA draft.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff<\/p>\n Johnson Jr.\u2019s mother, who also still lives in Illinois, has one golden rule while he\u2019s away:<\/p>\n \u201cAlways make time for family, even if you just call because you haven\u2019t seen anybody in a while,\u201d Natasha Jones told The News.<\/p>\n Jones describes her son as shy at first, then silly and goofy once he\u2019s comfortable, whether he\u2019s posing a bodyguard behind May\u2019s postgame interviews or trolling his new teammate, Max Christie, for going to in-state rival Michigan State.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Jones said she doesn\u2019t remember what Johnson was doing on the court the first time she saw him flip the switch from silly to serious, but she remembers her reaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBoy, you better calm your butt down!\u201d Jones recalled shouting to her son, who was in eighth grade at the time. \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing, though. The look in his eyes lets me know he\u2019s in that mode and he\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Building a life around basketball<\/p>\n Dallas Mavericks forward Morez Johnson Jr. (14) passes a ball to Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) as Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) looks on during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball game at American Airlines Center, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Professional basketball wasn\u2019t always a dream job for Johnson Jr., who wanted to be a veterinarian long before hoops took over his life. He owns two dogs \u2014 a pit bull named Princess, who lives at his father\u2019s house, and a goldendoodle, Iso, who lives with him in Dallas.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanna have some chickens, some pigs or something like that,\u201d Johnson Jr. said. \u201cNot actually have a farm to sell things. I love animals.\u201d<\/p>\n Those aspirations are now secondary to the NBA, a goal of Johnson Jr.\u2019s since he started playing basketball at the age of 11, rather late for an elite preps player.<\/p>\n The forward was once overlooked on his own high school team, as fellow big man James Brown was considered the top freshman prospect for St. Rita. He watched his teammate receive more college offers and began to second-guess himself, but his father encouraged him to focus on what he could control: his attitude, effort and intensity on the court.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can\u2019t do what you do,\u201d Johnson Sr. told him. \u201cJust keep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson Jr. committed to Illinois as a sophomore and helped St. Rita to a 23-12 record and a Class 4A regional title. As a junior, he averaged a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, along with two blocks per game. Johnson Jr.\u2019s star teammates and his coach left for other schools after this season, prompting his transfer to Thornton. He became even more dominant his senior year, recording 27 double-doubles and carrying averages of 20 points, 15 rebounds and 4.0 assists.<\/p>\n His national profile skyrocketed by the end of his high school hoops career as he transformed into a top-40 four-star recruit. He was Mr. Basketball and the Gatorade Player of the Year for Illinois and was ranked the No. 1 overall player in the state in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a while I learned I shouldn\u2019t be comparing myself in any aspect and just let things come to me,\u201d Johnson Jr. said. \u201cAnd everything worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson Jr. left high school with nearly every accolade an elite basketball prospect could want, except one\u00a0\u2014 an invitation to the 2024 McDonald\u2019s All-American Game.<\/p>\n \u201cI was butt hurt about that,\u201d Johnson Jr. told The News, reflecting on the moment to a friend close by. \u201cRemember the game after I didn\u2019t get McDonald\u2019s? I didn\u2019t even score in the whole first half. I was just so pissed.\u201d<\/p>\n The omission stung, but not as much as his freshman season at Illinois, where he\u2019d been recruited by former assistant coach Tim Anderson, who left the program indefinitely for family matters. Without his biggest supporter, Johnson Jr. came off the bench and averaged 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 30 games, with only eight starts. It led him to enter the transfer portal, which opened the door to a new beginning at Michigan.<\/p>\n \u201cHe seemed like he really cared about me, not just from a basketball aspect,\u201d Johnson Jr. said of May. \u201cI know that\u2019s hard to say with somebody you just met, but I just got those vibes from him.\u201d<\/p>\n From Michigan to the Mavericks<\/p>\n Morez Johnson Jr.\u2019s Michigan jersey is shown in a frame at Washington Elementary School in Riverdale, Ill. The Dallas Mavericks selected Johnson out of\u00a0Michigan with the ninth pick of\u00a0the 2026\u00a0NBA draft.<\/p>\n Mike Curtis\/Staff<\/p>\n Johnson Jr. developed into a more complete player under May, blending his natural physicality around the basket with a mission to disrupt on the defensive end.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that makes him so valuable is that he checks a lot of boxes,\u201d the Mavericks head coach said. \u201cWhatever that moment needs or whatever that game needs, he\u2019s adaptable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe things that make Rez Rez are his tenaciousness, his heart, his physicality and doing whatever it takes to win.\u201d<\/p>\n The competitive side of Johnson Jr. and his willingness to embrace the less-glorified parts of the game helped the Wolverines capture their first national championship in 37 years, while elevating his draft stock.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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