- Markieff Morris
- HT/WT: 6'9, 245 lbs
- Birthdate: 9/2/1989 (32)
- College: Kansa
- Draft Info: 2011: rd 1, pk 13 (PHX)
- Status: Active
Markieff Morris Early Years
Markieff Morris was born September 2, 1989, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Brooklyn of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Kansas Pinehawks before being selected by the Phoenix with the 13th overall pick in the NBA Draft 2011. Morris won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Morris has four brothers, including twin Marcus, who plays for the LA Clippers. Morris, considered a four-star player by Rivals.com, was ranked No. 17 power forward and No. 49 in the nation in 2008.
Table of Contents
College Career
Morris attended the University of Kansas, majoring in American Studies. With the Jayhawks in 2011 as a junior, he was named to a second team in the Big 12. He and his brother Marcus both signed with a sports agent in Los Angeles and announced they would be participating in the 2011 NBA draft. After his junior season, he was selected by Fox Sports to make the fifth-team All-American.
Professional career
Phoenix Suns (2011–2016)
2011–2012 season
Markieff Morris was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 13th overall pick in the NBA draft 2011. His twin brother, Marcus, being drafted by the Rockets 5 minutes later. On January 8, 2012, he had his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a 109-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. On January 18, Morris made his first NBA career start against the New York Knicks. However, due to the stomach virus, Markieff played only 5 minutes, scored 3 points and 2 steals, and then Channing Frye defeated Phoenix 91-88 to take over the position of power forward. On February 8, 2012, Markieff was selected for the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge, making him the first Suns player since Amal Stoudemire to appear in the Rookie Challenge. Morris played for the Shaq and had 12 points and six rebounds. On March 25, Morris scored a career-high 22 points in a 108-83 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, tying Marcin Gortat as the game’s leading scorer.
2012–2013 season
Morris entered Summer League for the first time in 2012 due to the 2011 NBA lockout, during which he averaged 9.8 rebounds and 19.8 points. After that time, he’s amassed 13 pounds of muscle while maintaining 245 pounds. on November 21, 2012, Morris made his first start of the season, after scoring a season high 16 points against the defending champion Miami Heat. He broke the season high with 3 points and tied Marcin Gortat’s win with 7 rebounds. Against the Portland Trail Blazers. Two days later, Morris scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Suns to a 111-108 overtime victory over the New Orleans Hornets. On December 6, 2012, Morris had a career-high 17 rebounds and 15 points in a 97-94 loss to the Dallas. On Feb. 21, 2013, Morris’ brother, Marcus, was traded to the Phoenix Suns to reunite after two years with different teams. It also marked the second time the Suns had twin brothers playing on the same team, with Dick and Tom Van Asdale being the first twins to play together in 1976-77. The twins went on to become the first brothers ever to play together on the same team.
2013–2014 season
On November 6, 2013, Morris tied a career-high 23 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Two days later, he had career highs with 28 points and 10 rebounds in a 114-103 home win over the Denver Nuggets. After a 101-94 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, scoring 23 points. He became the 3rd player since 1989 to shoot more than 75 percent from the field in 3 straight games with at least 12 attempts per game; White Howard and Charles Barkley are the first two players to accomplish this task. From November 4-11, 2013, Morris was named the Western Conference Player of the Year after leading the league in 22.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and field goal percentage (.698). Morris had 27 points and 15 rebounds in a 99-90 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, making Morris the first player to have at least 27 points and 15 rebounds off the bench since Yao Ming in 2002. Due to his progress as a sixth man throughout the 2013-14 season, he was ultimately a candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award and the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award.
2015–2016 season
He signed a multi-year extension with the Phoenix Suns on September 29, 2014. On November 17, 2014, he scored a career-high 30 points in a 118-114 victory over the Boston Celtics. On January 2, 2015, he briefly played for the Suns with Marcus and teammates Golan and Zoran Dragic in the fourth quarter of the Suns’ 112-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. It marked the first time in NBA history that two different people and brothers was playing together at the same time for the same team. He scored a career high 35 points on 15-of-21 shooting in a 107-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 13, 2015.
2015–2016 season
September 8, 2015, Morris was fined 10,000 dollar for publicly calling for a trade a month earlier, against the league. Morris later worked out with old friend Rasheed Wallace before rejoining the Suns for training camp. On Nov. 23, he scored a season-high 28 points in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Morris played 16 games before the season started before being replaced by coach Jeff Hornacek on Dec. 4. During the fourth quarter of the Suns’ Dec. 23 game against the Denver Nuggets, Morris threw a towel in the direction of Hornacek, who was heading to the bench. The next day, Morris was suspended for two games for his team-unfavorable conduct and was later flagged by AZCentral.com as one of Arizona’s biggest sports villains. Morris returned to the rotation to help strengthen the frontcourt after teammate Alex Len was injured in early January. On February 2, 2016, Earl Watson had 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists in a 104-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors in his first game as head coach of the Suns , 2 blocks and 1 steal for a season-best performance. Four days later, he had 17 points and a career-high 8 assists in a loss to the Utah Jazz. During the Suns’ final game against the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 10, Morris and teammate Archie Goodwin had a physical altercation on the bench and an altercation during a timeout. The argument step up into a shoving match between the two, with teammates quickly stepping in and separating the two.
Washington Wizards (2016–2019)
He was traded to the Wizards in exchange for DeJuan Blair on February 18, 2016, Chris Humphreys and a 2016 Top-9 protected first-round pick. The next day, he had six points and two rebounds in 22 minutes in a 98-86 win over his brother’s team, the Pistons, in his Wizards debut. He recorded his first double-double as a Wizards with 13 rebounds and 16 points in a 116-108 win against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 29, 2016.
Morris scored a season high 26 points in a 112-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers on February 10, 2017. The Wizards ended the regular season with a 49-33 record and entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. They then won their first Southeast Division title since 1978-79. Morris got 21 points in his NBA playoff debut as the Wizards loss the Atlanta Hawks 114-107 in Game 1 of the first-round series on April 16, 2017.
Morris was ruled out for 6 to 8 weeks after undergoing sports hernia repair surgery on September 22, 2017. He scored a season high 27 points in a 116-111 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 13, 2018.
On January 3, 2019, He was ruled out for 6 weeks with stiff neck and upper back, leading to his diagnosis of transient cervical neuropraxia.
On February 7, 2019, Morris was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans along with a 2023 second-round pick in exchange for Wesley Johnson. The next day, the Pelicans waived him.
Oklahoma City Thunder (2019)
Morris signed with the OKC Thunder on February 20, 2019.
Detroit Pistons (2019–2020)
Morris signed with the Detroit Pistons on July 6, 2019. Morris and the Pistons agreed to a takeover on February 21, 2020.
Los Angeles Lakers (2020–2021)
Morris was signed by the LA Lakers on February 23, 2020, using their $1.75 million disabled player waiver to replace DeMarcus Cousins. The Lakers advanced to the semifinals against Houston in the playoffs. In Game 2, the veteran forward who came off the bench had 16 points in 23 minutes, going 6-for-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. In the 2nd half of Game 3, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel countered the Rockets’ small-ball lineup, starting Morris in place of JaVale McGee and moving Anthony Davis to center. Morris remained a starter for the rest of the series, which the LA Lakers won 4-1. The Lakers won the NBA Finals 2020 in 6 games, earning Morris his 1st championship. Morris re-signed with the Lakers for the 2020-2021 season.
Miami Heat (2021–present)
Morris signed a one-year veteran minimum contract with the Miami Heat on August 6, 2021.
Morris was fined $50,000 for an altercation with Nikola Jokic during a game on Nov. 8, 2021. Morris suffered a neck injury during the game and was later diagnosed with whiplash after Jokic shoved him from behind. On March 11, 2022, Morris received his medical clearance to return to play.