Markieff Morris

Markieff Morris (born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks before being drafted 13th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.

Markieff Morris
Morris with the Wizards in 2016
No. 88 – Los Angeles Lakers
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1989-09-02) September 2, 1989
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school
  • Prep Charter
    (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • APEX Academy
    (Pennsauken, New Jersey)
CollegeKansas (2008–2011)
NBA draft2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career2011–present
Career history
2011–2016Phoenix Suns
2016–2019Washington Wizards
2019Oklahoma City Thunder
2019–2020Detroit Pistons
2020–presentLos Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early years

Morris was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Thomasine "Angel" Morris. He has four brothers, Donte, Blake, David and twin Marcus, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers.[1] Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Morris was listed as the No. 17 power forward and the No. 49 player in the nation in 2008.[2]

College career

Morris enrolled at the University of Kansas, where he majored in American studies.[1] As a junior with the Jayhawks in 2011, he was named second-team all-conference in the Big 12. Both he and his brother, Marcus, signed with a sports agent from Los Angeles and announced that they would enter the 2011 NBA draft.[3] He was picked to the Fifth Team All-America by Fox Sports after his junior season.[4]

Professional career

Phoenix Suns (2011–2016)

2011–12 season

Morris was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 13th pick in the 2011 NBA draft. His twin brother, Marcus was drafted by the Houston Rockets five minutes later.[5] On January 8, 2012, he recorded his first professional double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a blowout 109–93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.[6] On January 18, Morris had his first professional start in the NBA against the New York Knicks. However, due to a stomach virus, Markieff only played for 5 minutes, scoring 3 points and grabbing 2 steals before Channing Frye took over the power forward position in a 91–88 Phoenix win.[7] On February 8, 2012, Markieff was named to the 2012 Rising Stars challenge, making him the first Suns player since Amar'e Stoudemire to appear in the Rookie Challenge.[8] Morris played for Team Shaq, recording 12 points and six rebounds. On March 25, Morris recorded a then career-high 22 points to tie Marcin Gortat as the game's leading scorer in a 108–83 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.[9]

2012–13 season
Morris with the Suns in 2012

Due to the 2011 NBA lockout, Morris had his first Summer League stint in 2012, during which he averaged 19.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. After this stint, he amassed 13 pounds of muscle while keeping his weight of 245 pounds. After scoring a then season-high 16 points against the defending champion Miami Heat, Morris made his first start of the season on November 21, 2012. He topped his season high in points by three, and tied Marcin Gortat with 7 rebounds in a victory against the Portland Trail Blazers.[10] Two days later, Morris recorded a then career-high 23 points to lead the Suns to a 111–108 overtime victory over the New Orleans Hornets.[11] On December 6, 2012, Morris pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds to go with 15 points in a 97–94 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[12] On February 21, 2013, Morris' brother Marcus was traded to the Phoenix Suns, reuniting them after two years of playing for separate teams.[13] This also marked the second time the Suns had twin brothers playing on the same team, with Dick and Tom Van Arsdale being the first twins to play together during the 1976–77 season. The Morris twins went on to become the first brothers ever to start alongside each other on the same team.

2013–14 season

On November 6, 2013, Morris tied his career-high 23 points and added 12 rebounds in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[14] He went on to post a new career-high two days later, scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a 114–103 home victory over the Denver Nuggets.[15] After scoring 23 points in a 101–94 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Morris became the third player since 1989 to shoot over 75% from the field in three consecutive games with at least 12 attempts each game; Dwight Howard and Charles Barkley were the first two players to accomplish this.[16] Morris was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the November 4 to 11, 2013 period after averaging 22.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and leading the league for field goal percentage (.698).[17] Morris had 27 points and grab 15 rebounds in a 99–90 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, making Morris the first player since Yao Ming in 2002 to score at least 27 points and grab 15 rebounds off the bench.[18] Because of his improvements throughout the 2013–14 NBA season as a sixth man, he ended up being a candidate for both the NBA Most Improved Player Award and the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.

2014–15 season

On September 29, 2014, Morris signed a multi-year contract extension with the Phoenix Suns.[19] On November 17, 2014, he recorded a then career-high 30 points in the 118–114 win over the Boston Celtics.[20] He and Marcus, alongside teammates Goran and Zoran Dragić, all briefly played together for the Suns during the fourth quarter of their 112–96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on January 2, 2015. It marked the first time in the NBA's history that two different pairs of brothers played together for the same team at the same time.[21] On January 13, 2015, he scored a career-high 35 points on 15-of-21 shooting in a 107–100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.[22] In a game against the Dallas Mavericks on March 22, the Morris twins both had double-doubles in the same game for the first time in their careers.[23]

2015–16 season

On September 8, 2015, Morris was fined $10,000 for conduct detrimental to the league by publicly demanding a trade a month earlier.[24] Morris later trained with long-time friend Rasheed Wallace prior to re-joining the Suns for training camp.[25] On November 23, he scored a then season-high 28 points in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[26][27] Morris started in 16 games to start the season before being benched by coach Jeff Hornacek from December 4 onwards.[27] During the fourth quarter of the Suns' December 23 game against the Denver Nuggets, Morris threw a towel in the direction of Hornacek as he was heading to the bench.[28] The following day, Morris was suspended for two games for conduct detrimental to the team,[29] and was later labelled one of Arizona's biggest sports villains by AZCentral.com.[30] Following an injury to teammate Alex Len in early January, Morris was reinserted back in the rotation to help fortify the frontcourt.[31] On February 2, 2016, during Earl Watson's first game as head coach for the Suns, he had a season-best game with 30 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal in a 104–97 loss to the Toronto Raptors.[32] Four days later, he recorded 17 points and a career-high eight assists in a loss to the Utah Jazz.[33] During his last game with the Suns on February 10 against the Golden State Warriors, Morris and teammate Archie Goodwin got into a physical altercation on the bench and were seen arguing during a timeout. The argument escalated into a shoving match between the pair, as teammates quickly stepped in and separated the two.[34]

Washington Wizards (2016–2019)

On February 18, 2016, Morris was traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and a 2016 Top–9 protected first round draft pick.[35] The next day, he made his debut for the Wizards in a 98–86 win over his brother's team, the Detroit Pistons, recording six points and two rebounds in 22 minutes.[36] On February 29, 2016, he recorded his first double-double as a Wizard with 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 116–108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.[37]

On February 10, 2017, Morris scored a season-high 26 points in a 112–107 win over the Indiana Pacers.[38] The Wizards finished the regular season with a 49–33 record and entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. They subsequently won their first Southeast Division title since 1978–79. On April 16, 2017, Morris scored 21 points in his NBA playoff debut as the Wizards defeated the Atlanta Hawks 114–107 in Game 1 of their first-round series.[39]

On September 22, 2017, Morris was ruled out for six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.[40] On March 13, 2018, he scored a season-high 27 points in a 116–111 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.[41]

On January 3, 2019, Morris was ruled out for six weeks following a bout of neck and upper back stiffness that led to him being diagnosed with transient cervical neurapraxia.[42]

On February 7, 2019, Morris was traded, along with a 2023 second-round pick, to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Wesley Johnson.[43] He was waived by the Pelicans the following day.[44]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2019)

On February 20, 2019, Morris signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.[45]

Detroit Pistons (2019–2020)

On July 6, 2019, Morris signed with the Detroit Pistons.[46] On February 21, 2020, Morris and the Pistons agreed to a buyout.[47]

Los Angeles Lakers (2020–present)

Morris was signed by the Los Angeles Lakers on February 23, 2020.[48]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12 Phoenix 63719.5.399.347.7174.41.0.7.77.4
2012–13 Phoenix 823222.4.407.336.7324.81.3.9.88.2
2013–14 Phoenix 81026.6.486.315.7926.01.8.8.613.8
2014–15 Phoenix 828231.5.465.318.7636.22.31.2.515.3
2015–16 Phoenix 372424.8.397.289.7175.22.4.9.511.6
2015–16 Washington 272126.4.467.316.7645.91.4.9.612.4
2016–17 Washington 767631.2.457.362.8376.51.71.1.614.0
2017–18 Washington 737327.0.480.367.8205.61.9.8.511.5
2018–19 Washington 341526.0.436.333.7815.11.8.7.611.5
2018–19 Oklahoma City 24116.1.391.339.7373.8.8.5.16.5
2019–20 Detroit 441622.5.450.397.7723.91.6.6.311.0
2019–20 L.A. Lakers 14114.2.406.333.8333.2.6.4.45.3
Career 63734825.5.448.345.7785.31.7.9.511.4

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017 Washington 131328.7.407.368.8066.31.7.91.312.1
2018 Washington 6630.2.490.167.9007.51.7.7.89.8
2019 Oklahoma City 5011.8.313.286.7782.61.0.2.63.8
Career 241929.2.428.320.8296.71.7.81.211.4

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Kansas 35715.6.448.188.6504.41.0.4.74.6
2009–10 Kansas 36217.6.566.526.6225.31.1.41.06.8
2010–11 Kansas 383524.4.589.424.6738.31.4.81.113.6
Career 1094319.3.553.404.6536.11.2.6.98.5

Personal life

Morris' identical twin brother Marcus was selected 14th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2011 NBA draft. Markieff is seven minutes older than Marcus. His nickname is "Keef".[49] He is a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, while Marcus is a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.[50]

On January 24, 2015, both Markieff and Marcus Morris found themselves involved with two aggravated assault cases as five different men (including the twins and former Baltimore Ravens safety Gerald Bowman) allegedly assaulted a 36-year-old man named Eric Hood outside of the Nina Mason Pulliam Recreation Center in Phoenix, Arizona.[51][52] Hood had previously mentored the Morris twins from high school until the end of their college careers, while the brothers would beat Hood up for "sending an inappropriate text message" to their mother. While the case against the Morris brothers was first set up during the summer of 2015,[53] the trial for the twins concluded on October 2, 2017, with both the twins and Gerald Bowman declared as not guilty, while the other people involved (Julius Kane and Christopher Melendez Jr.) confessed their guilt in September 2017. Even with their apparent innocence, the incident was not only considered a catalyst for the Suns to trade Marcus to the Detroit Pistons on July 9, 2015;[54] but it was also one of the biggest reasons why the Suns traded Markieff to the Wizards over eight months later on February 18, 2016.[55]

Morris and his wife, Thereza Wright-Morris, have a daughter.[56]

gollark: You don't actually need to rewrite it constantly.
gollark: It can be spoofed.
gollark: I have it hooked up to my personal rednet snooper too.
gollark: There is, however, no MITM protection.
gollark: It already uses Ring LWE.

References
  1. University of Kansas. "Player Bio Markieff Morris". Kansas Athletics. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  2. "Markieff Morris at Rivals". Yahoo.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  3. "Morris twins sign with agent, will declare for draft". Lawrence Journal-World. April 7, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  4. Goodman, Jeff (March 7, 2011). "Goodman's 2010–11 All-America teams". Fox Sports. Fox Sports Interactive Media. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  5. Devine, Dan (June 23, 2011). "Twins Markieff and Marcus Morris go back-to-back in NBA draft". Sports.Yahoo.com. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  6. "Steve Nash hands out 17 assists in 27 minutes as Suns rout Bucks". ESPN.com. January 9, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  7. "Steve Nash, Suns stop 5-game skid as Knicks fall short again". ESPN.com. January 19, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  8. Pollack, Seth (February 8, 2012). "Rookie Markieff Morris Gets The All-Star Nod, Will Represent Suns In Rising Stars Game". BrightSideOfTheSun.com. SBNation. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  9. "Streaking Suns put away Cavs early to continue playoff push". ESPN.com. March 25, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  10. "Notebook: Suns 114, Blazers 87". NBA.com. November 22, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  11. "Suns rally from 19-point deficit in third quarter, win in overtime". ESPN.com. November 24, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  12. "O.J. Mayo helps Mavericks send Suns to fifth straight loss". ESPN.com. December 7, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  13. "Suns Acquire Marcus Morris". NBA.com. February 21, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  14. "Notebook: Spurs 99, Suns 96". NBA.com. November 7, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  15. "Morris brothers help Suns rally past Nuggets". ESPN.com. November 9, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  16. "Surprising Suns upend Pelicans behind Eric Bledsoe". ESPN.com. November 11, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  17. "Pacers' George, Suns' Markieff Morris named Players of the Week". NBA.com. November 11, 2013. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  18. Coro, Paul (January 29, 2014). "Phoenix Suns' Miles Plumlee feels he's 'getting back' to form". AZCentral.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  19. "Suns Sign Marcus and Markieff Morris to Extensions". NBA.com. September 29, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  20. "Morris, Suns pull out 118-114 win over Celtics". NBA.com. November 17, 2014. Archived from the original on November 19, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  21. "Green helps Suns pull away from 76ers, 112-96". NBA.com. January 3, 2015. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  22. "James' 33 in return not enough, Cavs lose sixth straight". NBA.com. January 14, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  23. "Phoenix Suns Game Notes" (PDF). NBA.com. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  24. Stein, Marc (September 8, 2015). "Sources: Markieff Morris tweet clinched NBA's decision on $10K fine". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  25. Buchanan, Zach (October 27, 2015). "Phoenix Suns' Markieff Morris had Rasheed Wallace help". AZCentral.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  26. "Leonard has 24, Spurs defense shines in 98-84 win over Suns". NBA.com. November 24, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  27. "Markieff Morris 2015-16 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  28. Polacek, Scott (December 24, 2015). "Markieff Morris Reportedly Threw Towel in Direction of Suns Coach Jeff Hornacek". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  29. "Suns Suspend Morris". NBA.com. December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  30. Joseph, Andrew (February 12, 2016). "The 10 biggest villains in Arizona sports". AZCentral.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  31. Coro, Paul (January 12, 2016). "Markieff Morris 'excited' to return to Suns action". AZCentral.com. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  32. "Lowry, Raptors hold off Suns, spoil Watson's coaching debut". NBA.com. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  33. "Hood, Jazz best reeling Suns 98-89 for 6th straight win". NBA.com. February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  34. "Markieff Morris, Archie Goodwin in shoving match during timeout". ESPN.com. February 11, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  35. "WIZARDS ACQUIRE MARKIEFF MORRIS". MonumentalNetwork.com. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  36. "Wall scores 22 points to help Wizards beat Pistons 98-86". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 19, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  37. "Wall scores 37 as Wizards rally to beat 76ers 116-108". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 29, 2016. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  38. "John Wall's late flurry lifts Wizards past Pacers 112-107". ESPN.com. February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  39. "Wall scores playoff-best 32 as Wizards beat Hawks in Game 1". ESPN.com. April 16, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  40. "Markieff Morris Injury Update". NBA.com. September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  41. "KAT hit in face, scores 37 to lead Wolves past Wiz 116-111". ESPN.com. March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  42. "Markieff Morris Injury Update". NBA.com. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  43. "Wizards acquire Johnson from Pelicans". NBA.com. February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  44. "Pelicans waive Markieff Morris". NBA.com. February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  45. "Thunder Signs Markieff Morris". NBA.com. February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  46. "Detroit Pistons Sign Free Agent Markieff Morris". NBA.com. July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  47. "Detroit Pistons and Markieff Morris Reach Buyout Agreement". NBA.com. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  48. "Lakers Sign Markieff Morris". NBA.com. February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  49. Petersen, Matt (September 16, 2014). "Morris Twins Get Fan-Decided Tattoos". NBA.com. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  50. "Q&A with Marcus Morris". THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE HOUSTON ROCKETS. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  51. "Suns' Morris twins charged with felony assault". Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  52. Wilkins, Terell; Marsh, Adrian (December 12, 2019). "Opening statements begin Monday for ex-Suns players' in assault case". azcentral. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  53. King, Dave (August 3, 2015). "Morris assault case could extend to late in season". Bright Side Of The Sun. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  54. Joseph, Andrew (July 2, 2015). "Markieff Morris reacts to Suns trade of Marcus Morris". azcentral. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  55. "Wizards get Markieff Morris from Suns at deadline". Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  56. Buckner, Candace (November 14, 2018). "'I just want to be brutally honest': When Markieff Morris speaks to kids, nothing's off limits". Retrieved March 31, 2019. As the questions continued, Morris’s mood seemed to lighten. His wife, Thereza, and baby daughter, Jyzelle
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