Ja Morant and his close friends are starting an AAU Basketball program, The Commercial Appeal learned on Monday.

Morant posted a logo with eye emojis on his Instagram account. The teams will be named “twelve time.” According to the team’s Instagram page, it will be made of boys sixth and seventh graders, plus a seventh grade girls team.

Morant and his close friends will be working on establishing the program ahead of its debut this summer. Morant, who was born in Georgia and raised in South Carolina, is taking it back to his roots.

“We’re going to base it out of the South Carolina and Georgia area,” Morant’s close friend Davonte Pack told The Commercial Appeal. “All the surrounding states around South Carolina.”

Morant has been heralded as Nike Basketball’s first Gen Z signature athlete since Dec. 2022. His arrival on the AAU scene would be the latest in a long list of Nike basketball athletes starting AAU teams.

The most notable local connection is the Nike EYBL’s Team Thad, started by Memphis native and current Toronto Raptors forward Thaddeus Young. Bradley Beal, Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are among the current NBA players with Nike EYBL AAU teams.

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