Daryl Morey

Daryl Morey
Born	(1972-09-14) September 14, 1972 Baraboo, Wisconsin, U.S.
Occupation	Basketball executive
Years active	1992–present
Known for	President of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers; former GM of Houston Rockets; co-founder of MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference; "Moreyball" strategy

Daryl Morey (born September 14, 1972) is an American basketball executive currently serving as the president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA. Renowned for his data-driven methodology, Morey prioritizes three-point field goal attempts and layups over mid-range jumpers, a strategy often referred to as "Moreyball," which draws inspiration from Michael Lewis's book Moneyball. He is also a co-founder of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

During his tenure as general manager of the Houston Rockets from 2007 until 2020, Morey guided the franchise to the second-highest number of wins in the NBA over that period, surpassed only by the San Antonio Spurs. After acquiring James Harden, the Rockets achieved the third-best record behind the Spurs and the Golden State Warriors. Morey was honored with the NBA Executive of the Year award for the 2017–18 season. By the conclusion of the 2023–24 NBA season, his cumulative "Wins over .500" placed him fifth all-time among NBA executives.

In 2019, Morey sparked significant controversy with a tweet endorsing the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, which led to widespread backlash from sponsors in mainland China and criticism directed at the NBA's handling of the situation. He resigned from his position with Houston in 2020 and subsequently joined the 76ers.

Early life and education

Hailing from Baraboo, Wisconsin, Morey completed his high school education at Highland High School near Medina, Ohio. He obtained a bachelor's degree in computer science with an emphasis on statistics from Northwestern University in 1996, followed by an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

STATS, Inc.

Morey's professional journey began in 1992 at STATS, Inc., a pioneering sports data company where notable analyst Bill James also contributed. He was among the first to apply James' concept of Pythagorean expectation to professional basketball, utilizing an exponent of 13.91 to estimate winning percentages:

<math>\mathrm{Win} = \frac{\text{points for}^{13.91}}{\text{points for}^{13.91} + \text{points against}^{13.91}}.</math>

This adaptation, known as Morey's "Modified Pythagorean Theorem," appeared in STATS Basketball Scoreboard, 1993–94.

EY-Parthenon

In 2000, Morey took on a role as principal consultant at EY-Parthenon, specializing in sports strategy advisory services.

Other

Morey serves as co-chair for the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and is actively involved in Esports; he has attended Major League Gaming events and held part-ownership in Houston-based Clutch Gaming, a team competing in the League of Legends Championship Series. Additionally, he produced Small Ball, a basketball-themed musical that debuted in 2018 at Houston's Catastrophic Theater. Beyond basketball and Esports, Morey is an enthusiastic chess player and maintains a chess bot on Chess.com.

Boston Celtics

In 2002, Morey was appointed senior vice president of operations for the Boston Celtics. His responsibilities included managing ticket pricing strategies and developing analytical tools and technologies aimed at enhancing basketball decision-making processes related to drafts, trades, free agency acquisitions, and scouting opponents for coaching staff.

Houston Rockets

On April 3, 2006, then-owner Leslie Alexander named Morey assistant general manager of the Houston Rockets. He was promoted to general manager on May 10, 2007, succeeding Carroll Dawson and introducing what became known as Moreyball—a fusion of advanced statistical analysis with conventional scouting methods. The Rockets were trailblazers as the first NBA franchise to hire a GM lacking a traditional basketball background. In 2012, Morey engineered a pivotal trade acquiring future MVP James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Throughout his leadership, Houston consistently avoided losing seasons, qualified for the playoffs nine times, and reached the Western Conference Finals twice—in 2015 and again in 2018. His efforts earned him NBA Executive of the Year accolades in 2018.

On October 15, 2020, Morey announced his intention to resign as general manager effective November 1, confirming his departure through a full-page advertisement in the Houston Chronicle. Following his exit, the Rockets initiated a rebuilding phase by trading prominent players Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Philadelphia 76ers

On November 2, 2020, the Philadelphia 76ers appointed Morey as their president of basketball operations.

In March 2021, Morey introduced a proposal to adjust the three-point shot value to 2.5 points and to expand the court dimensions so that corner three-pointers would be more challenging, demonstrating his commitment to strategic innovation.

On March 13, 2025, during an appearance on Pablo S. Torre's podcast, Morey disclosed that the 76ers had utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to guide critical team decisions throughout the season. This revelation drew criticism from both current and former players who questioned the heavy dependence on AI and Morey's management style.

The Undoing Project

Michael Lewis, known for Moneyball, spotlighted Daryl Morey as a pioneering figure in analytics within his 2016 book, The Undoing Project. While Moneyball chronicled Billy Beane's data-centric success with the Oakland Athletics, Lewis emphasized Morey's use of comparable analytical methods in basketball to uncover undervalued players, which propelled the Houston Rockets' competitive advantage. Morey’s methodology is grounded in behavioral economics theories developed by Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, marking a transition from traditional scouting based on intuition to decisions driven by data—a shift credited with aiding the Rockets' recent successes.

Twitter comments on Hong Kong

On October 4, 2019, Morey posted a tweet expressing support for the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, which triggered backlash from Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who stressed that the franchise is not a political organization despite Morey's prominent role as an NBA executive. Morey subsequently removed the tweet. This incident strained the Rockets' significant commercial relationships in mainland China, which had been notably strengthened following the selection of Yao Ming in 2002. The Chinese Basketball Association severed ties with the Rockets, Chinese e-commerce platforms pulled Rockets merchandise from sale, and Tencent canceled broadcasts of their games. This response highlighted Beijing's heightened sensitivity to foreign political statements concerning China.

At that time, Morey was attending NBA games in Tokyo and reduced his public engagements amid the controversy. He explained that his tweet was prompted by a new Hong Kong law banning protesters from wearing masks and reflected his long-standing interest in Hong Kong’s autonomy issues dating back to his time at MIT Sloan.

Both Morey and the NBA issued statements expressing regret over the consequences but did not offer formal apologies. These reactions sparked bipartisan criticism from U.S. politicians such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ted Cruz, who accused the NBA of placing Chinese financial interests above American principles and free speech rights. Commentators pointed out inconsistencies with the NBA’s previous stances on social justice issues and linked the episode to wider concerns about corporate self-censorship aimed at appeasing China. Chinese state media condemned both Morey and the NBA for failing to apologize.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended the league’s response by affirming Morey’s freedom of expression while acknowledging China's right to respond as a sovereign nation. The controversy resulted in China’s CCTV canceling NBA broadcasts, protests at U.S.-based preseason games involving Chinese teams, cancellation of NBA community initiatives in Shanghai, and suspension of all sponsors based in mainland China. Then-President Donald Trump criticized some NBA coaches for responses he viewed as inconsistent with their prior political activism.

A Fox Business report suggested that if tensions with China worsened further, the NBA might seek expansion opportunities in emerging markets such as Africa and India.