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Daryl Morey (born September 14, 1972) is an American sports executive who is the president of basketball operations of the
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He co-founded the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Morey's basketball philosophy, heavily reliant on
analytics Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns toward effective decision-making. It ...
, favors three-point field goals and lay-ups over mid-range jumpers. This style has been dubbed "Moreyball", as a nod towards
Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. H ...
's ''
Moneyball ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'' is a book by Michael Lewis, published in 2003, about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane. Its focus is the team's analytical, evidence-based, sabermetric appro ...
''. During his tenure as general manager for the
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
from 2007 to 2020, he had posted the second-most wins in the NBA—behind only the San Antonio Spurs—and since the blockbuster trade that brought James Harden to the Rockets, he had posted the third-best record, behind only the Spurs and the Golden State Warriors.


Early life and education

Morey was born on September 14, 1972, in
Baraboo, Wisconsin Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 populatio ...
. He graduated from Highland High School in
Medina, Ohio Medina ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 Census. It lies about 33 miles (53 km) south of Cleveland and 23 miles (37 km) west of Akron within the Cleve ...
before receiving a bachelor's degree in computer science with an emphasis on statistics from Northwestern University in 1996, as well as an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.


Career


STATS, Inc.

Morey began his career in 1992 with STATS, Inc., a pioneer sports data firm where
Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...
also worked. During his time there he was the first to adapt James' Pythagorean expectation to professional basketball. He found that using 13.91 for the exponents provided an acceptable model for predicting won-lost percentages: :\mathrm = \frac. Daryl's "Modified Pythagorean Theorem" was first published in
STATS Basketball Scoreboard, 1993–94
'.


EY Parthenon

In 2000, Morey worked at EY-Parthenon, a leading strategy consulting firm, as a principal consultant with an emphasis on sports.


Boston Celtics

In 2002 Morey left EY-Parthenon to become senior vice president of operations for the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
, with responsibility for setting ticket prices and developing analytical methods and technology to enhance basketball decisions related to the draft, trades, free agency, and advance scouting of opponents for the coaching staff.


Houston Rockets

Then-
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
owner Leslie Alexander named Morey the team's assistant general manager on April 3, 2006. Morey succeeded
Carroll Dawson Carroll Dawson is an American former assistant coach and general manager in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He worked for the Houston Rockets franchise for 27 years before retiring in 2007. College playing career A native of Alba, T ...
as general manager on May 10, 2007, following the ''Moreyball'' trend of integrating advanced statistical analysis with traditional qualitative scouting and basic statistics. Although several teams had previously hired executives with non-traditional basketball backgrounds, the Rockets were the first NBA team to hire such a general manager. In the fall of 2012, he and the Rockets acquired now-All-Star and 2017-18 league MVP James Harden via trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder. During Morey's tenure, the Rockets did not have a losing record and advanced to the playoffs 9 times, including to the Western Conference Finals in 2015 and 2018. He was also named the
NBA Executive of the Year The National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award is an annual award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager, president of basketball/business operations, or another high-ranking executive. Before ...
in 2018. On October 15, 2020, the Rockets announced that Morey would step down as general manager on November 1, 2020. He confirmed his departure in a full page ad in the Houston Chronicle on October 18, 2020. After Morey's departure, the Rockets would embark on a rebuild by trading away
Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star an ...
and James Harden. Morey's resignation made
Donnie Nelson Donn Charles Nelson (born September 10, 1962) is an American basketball executive who previously held general manager and president of basketball operations roles for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the s ...
of the Dallas Mavericks the longest-tenured general manager in the NBA, as Presti was hired in June 2007, a month after Morey became the Rockets' GM.


Philadelphia 76ers

On November 2, 2020, the
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
named Morey as president of basketball operations. Morey and the organization selected
Tyrese Maxey Tyrese Kendrid Maxey (born November 4, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Born in Da ...
with the 21st pick in the
2020 NBA Draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...
, acquired
Seth Curry Seth Adham Curry (born August 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one year at Liberty University before transferring to Duke. ...
and Danny Green, and signed
Dwight Howard Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. He is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team m ...
in November 2020. On March 22, 2021, Morey said "3-pointers should be worth 2.5 points" and the court should be widened to make corner 3-pointers longer. On February 10, 2022, Morey and the
76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
traded for James Harden and
Paul Millsap Paul Millsap (born February 10, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A power forward from Louisiana Tech University, Millsap was selected by ...
. They traded away a package including
Ben Simmons Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, after which he was ...
,
Seth Curry Seth Adham Curry (born August 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one year at Liberty University before transferring to Duke. ...
, Andre Drummond, the
76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
unprotected 2023 first round draft pick, and the
76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
2027 first round draft pick, top-8 protected.


Other

Morey is the co-chairperson for the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. He is also an avid Esports supporter, has attended MLG (Major League Gaming) events, and was part owner of Clutch Gaming, the Houston, Texas-based
League of Legends Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the top level of professional '' League of Legends'' in the United States and Canada. The esports league is run by Riot Games and has ten franchise teams. Each annual season of competition is divided ...
eSports team. Morey is also passionate about
musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
. He commissioned and produced the basketball themed musical Small Ball, which opened in April 2018 at the Catastrophic Theater in Houston, Texas.


Media


''The Undoing Project''

Author of ''
Moneyball ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'' is a book by Michael Lewis, published in 2003, about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane. Its focus is the team's analytical, evidence-based, sabermetric appro ...
'', Michael Lewis, chose Daryl Morey as the new nerd-hero at the center of his 2016 book, '' The Undoing Project''. Whereas ''Moneyball'' highlighted the plight and success of
Billy Beane William Lamar Beane III (born March 29, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and current front office executive. He is the executive vice president of baseball operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of Maj ...
as GM of the Oakland Athletics in 2003, ''The Undoing Project'' reveals Daryl Morey as the underdog king of basketball, making use of a similar analytical method to acquire undervalued talent as Beane did with the A's to produce a forceful team. Lewis uses Morey as a real-world example of one who has exemplified ideas introduced by
Daniel Kahneman Daniel Kahneman (; he, דניאל כהנמן; born March 5, 1934) is an Israeli-American psychologist and economist notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, as well as behavioral economics, for which he was award ...
and
Amos Tversky Amos Nathan Tversky ( he, עמוס טברסקי; March 16, 1937 – June 2, 1996) was an Israeli cognitive and mathematical psychologist and a key figure in the discovery of systematic human cognitive bias and handling of risk. Much of his ...
, two Israeli psychologists whose work pioneered the field of
behavioral economics Behavioral economics studies the effects of psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural and social factors on the decisions of individuals or institutions, such as how those decisions vary from those implied by classical economic theory. ...
. The psychologist duo defined a simple, two-part distinction of the way the brain makes decisions: System 1 and System 2. A more intuitive, subjective, fast, and efficient process, System 1 represents the brain's capacity to make split-second choices, often using personal experience to guide decision-making. System 2, however, characterizes a slower, more analytical process of reasoning to reach a conclusion. Michael Lewis points out in ''The Undoing Project'' how Daryl Morey observed basketball experts of the time making awfully subjective assessments in looking at basketball players. Shifting the Rockets' scouting strategy to look at hard data over simple observations, Morey implemented a more System-2-based approach to the team's hiring practices. This strategy is thought to be critically linked to the Houston Rockets' recent success.


Twitter comments on Hong Kong

On October 4, 2019, Morey tweeted in support of the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
, drawing criticism from Rockets owner
Tilman Fertitta Tilman Joseph Fertitta (born 1957) is an American billionaire businessman and television personality. He is the chairman, CEO, and owner of Landry's, Inc. He also owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Houston Rockets. Fertitta is ch ...
, who said that while Morey was the best general manager in the NBA, the Rockets were not a political organization. Morey later deleted the tweet. In mainland China, where the Rockets have an extensive relationship after the selection of Yao Ming in
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, Morey's tweet resulted in the
Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basi ...
's suspension of its relationship with the Rockets and the issuance of a statement of dissatisfaction from the consular office of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Houston. All Houston Rockets-related items were removed from the Tmall and
JD.com JD.com, Inc., also known as Jingdong (), internationally known as Joybuy and formerly called 360buy,
sites and the team's games were removed from broadcasting on
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
. The Associated Press said that the reactions underscored Beijing's sensitivity about foreign attitudes toward the protests. At the time of the tweet, Morey and the Rockets were in Tokyo for the NBA's Japan Games. He remained isolated in his room at the hotel and only engaged with Toronto Raptors president
Masai Ujiri Masai Ujiri (born 7 July 1970) is a British-born, Nigerian-Canadian professional basketball executive and former player and is the president of basketball operations of the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a m ...
upon the fallout. According to Ujiri, Morey said that the timing of his tweet was in response to a new law in Hong Kong prohibiting protesters from wearing masks and that himself and his friends had discussed political autonomy in Hong Kong since attending MIT Sloan. A few days later, Morey and the NBA each issued a separate statement addressing the original tweet, with Morey saying that he never intended his tweet to cause any offense and the NBA saying that it was regrettable. The statements were criticized by US politicians and third-party observers for the perceived exercise of economic statecraft by the PRC and insufficiency of the NBA's defense of Morey's tweet.Some relevant sources include: * * * * * * * * * * A bipartisan letter by
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
,
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas fro ...
, and six other lawmakers fiercely criticized the NBA's handling of the controversy. The lawmakers wrote that the NBA's response not only "sold out an American citizen" but also "reinforces the Chinese Communist Party view that those who point to Chinese repression in Hong Kong are at best stating opinions, not facts", as well as being "a betrayal of fundamental American values". Critics also contrasted the league's disparate response to Morey's tweet with its history of political activismSome relevant sources include: * * * * * * * * * * and compared the incident to an October 2 ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand their ...
'' episode "
Band in China "Band in China" is the second episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series ''South Park''. The 299th episode overall of the series, it premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 2, 2019. The episod ...
" which parodies the self-censorship of the American entertainment industry to meet PRC censorship demands. The statements also drew criticism from PRC state-run media for their perceived insufficiency, as Morey himself did not apologize. NBA commissioner
Adam Silver Adam Silver (born April 25, 1962) is an American lawyer and sports executive who serves as the fifth and current commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He joined the NBA in 1992 and has held various positions within the lea ...
later defended the league's response to the tweet, supporting Morey's right to freedom of expression while also accepting the right of reply from the government of and businesses from mainland China. Further fallout from the tweet included the decision by China Central Television to cancel the broadcasting of two NBA preseason games, pro-Hong Kong protest demonstrations held at preseason games in the United States involving teams from the Chinese Basketball Association, the cancellation of NBA Cares community events in Shanghai, criticism by then-president Donald Trump of the perceived double standards by the reactions of specific coaches to NBA response relative to their past criticisms of his policies, and the suspension/termination of all mainland Chinese sponsors of the NBA. A
Fox Business Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue ...
article said that the NBA would look to Africa and India for growth if the league were to sever ties with mainland China as a result of the tweet.


References


External links

*
Daryl Morey’s ‘Small Ball’ Musical Is Very Good and Very Weird
The Ringer. April 10, 2018.

The New York Times. October 3, 2017.

Slate. December 6, 2016. * ttp://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/610038-PDF-ENG Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston RocketsHarvard Business School. September 24, 2010.
The No-Stats All-Star
The New York Times. February 13, 2009.
How Do You Know ... This Game Isn't Rocket Science?
ESPN The Magazine. October 22, 2008.

The New York Times. January 28, 2008.
10 Questions with Daryl Morey
ClutchFans. May 22, 2006.
Daryl Morey's Modified Pythagorean Theorem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morey, Daryl 1972 births Living people Basketball people from Wisconsin Boston Celtics personnel Houston Rockets general managers MIT Sloan School of Management alumni Northwestern University alumni People from Baraboo, Wisconsin Philadelphia 76ers executives