Markieff Morris facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids
Markieff Morris
No. 88 – Dallas Mavericks
Morris with the Washington Wizards in 2018
Power forward
Personal information
Born	(1989-09-02) September 2, 1989 (age 35) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
High school	Prep Charter (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) APEX Academy (Pennsauken, New Jersey)
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
College	Kansas (2008–2011)
NBA Draft	2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Pro career	2011–present
League	NBA
Career history
2011–2016	Phoenix Suns
2016–2019	Washington Wizards
2019	Oklahoma City Thunder
2019–2020	Detroit Pistons
2020–2021	Los Angeles Lakers
2021–2022	Miami Heat
2022–2023	Brooklyn Nets
2023–present	Dallas Mavericks

Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (2020) Second-team All-Big 12 (2011)

Markieff Morris (born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player. He plays for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the NBA, he played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. He was picked 13th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns. Morris won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

Early Life and Basketball Beginnings

Markieff Morris was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has four brothers, including his identical twin, Marcus. When he was in high school, experts considered Markieff a top player. In 2008, he was ranked as the 17th best power forward and the 49th best player in the nation.

College Basketball Career

Morris went to the University of Kansas for college. He studied American studies there. In 2011, during his junior year, he played for the Jayhawks. He was named to the second-team all-conference in the Big 12.

After his junior season, both Markieff and his brother Marcus decided to enter the 2011 NBA draft. Markieff was also chosen for the Fifth Team All-America by Fox Sports.

Professional NBA Career

Playing for the Phoenix Suns (2011–2016)

Markieff Morris was chosen by the Phoenix Suns as the 13th pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Just five minutes later, his twin brother, Marcus, was drafted by the Houston Rockets.

First Season (2011–12)

On January 8, 2012, Morris achieved his first professional double-double. This means he scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in one game. It was a big win for the Suns against the Milwaukee Bucks. On January 18, Morris started his first NBA game against the New York Knicks.

Later, on February 8, 2012, Morris was picked for the 2012 Rising Stars challenge. He was the first Suns player since Amar'e Stoudemire to play in this event for new players. Morris played for Team Shaq and scored 12 points with six rebounds. On March 25, he scored a career-high 22 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Second Season (2012–13)

Morris in 2012

In 2012, Morris played in the Summer League, where he performed very well. He gained 13 pounds of muscle while keeping his weight at 245 pounds. On November 21, 2012, Morris made his first start of the season. He scored a season-high 16 points against the Miami Heat.

Two days later, Morris scored a career-high 23 points, helping the Suns win in overtime against the New Orleans Hornets. On December 6, 2012, he grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in a game against the Dallas Mavericks.

A special moment happened on February 21, 2013. Morris' twin brother Marcus was traded to the Phoenix Suns. This reunited them after two years of playing on different teams. They became the first brothers to ever start a game together on the same NBA team.

Third Season (2013–14)

On November 6, 2013, Morris tied his career-high with 23 points and added 12 rebounds. Two days later, he set a new career-high by scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against the Denver Nuggets. He became one of only three players since 1989 to shoot over 75% from the field in three games in a row.

Morris was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for his great performance from November 4–11, 2013. He averaged 22.8 points and 8.0 rebounds during that time. He also had 27 points and 15 rebounds in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Because of his big improvements, Morris was considered for the NBA Most Improved Player Award.

Fourth Season (2014–15)

On September 29, 2014, Morris signed a new contract with the Suns. On November 17, 2014, he scored a career-high 30 points against the Boston Celtics. On January 2, 2015, Markieff and Marcus, along with teammates Goran and Zoran Dragić, all played together briefly. This was the first time in NBA history that two pairs of brothers played on the same team at the same time.

On January 13, 2015, Morris scored a new career-high of 35 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In a game against the Dallas Mavericks on March 22, both Morris twins achieved a double-double in the same game for the first time.

Fifth Season (2015–16)

On September 8, 2015, Morris was fined $10,000 for asking to be traded. He later trained with his friend Rasheed Wallace. On November 23, Morris scored a season-high 28 points. He started 16 games before being benched by his coach. On February 2, 2016, Morris had a great game with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.

In his last game with the Suns on February 10, Morris had an argument with a teammate on the bench.

Moving to the Washington Wizards (2016–2019)

Morris in 2016

On February 18, 2016, Morris was traded to the Washington Wizards. The next day, he played his first game for the Wizards. It was a win against his brother's team, the Detroit Pistons. On February 29, 2016, Morris had his first double-double as a Wizard, with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

On February 10, 2017, Morris scored a season-high 26 points. The Wizards had a strong season, finishing with 49 wins and 33 losses. They won their first Southeast Division title since 1978–79. On April 16, 2017, Morris scored 21 points in his first NBA playoff game.

On March 13, 2018, he scored a season-high 27 points. On January 3, 2019, Morris was out for six weeks due to a neck and back issue. On February 7, 2019, Morris was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, but he was waived by them the next day.

Playing for Oklahoma City Thunder (2019)

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

Playing for Detroit Pistons (2019–2020)

On July 6, 2019, Morris signed with the Detroit Pistons. On February 21, 2020, Morris and the Pistons agreed to end his contract early.

Joining the Los Angeles Lakers (2020–2021)

Morris signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on February 23, 2020. The Lakers made it far in the playoffs. In a game against Houston, Morris scored 16 points in 23 minutes. The Lakers won the 2020 NBA Finals in six games, and Morris earned his first championship ring! He re-signed with the Lakers for the 2020–21 season.

Playing for Miami Heat (2021–2022)

On August 6, 2021, Morris signed a one-year contract with the Miami Heat. On November 8, 2021, Morris was fined for an incident in a game. He suffered a neck injury but returned to play on March 11, 2022.

Playing for Brooklyn Nets (2022–2023)

On September 7, 2022, Morris signed with the Brooklyn Nets.

Playing for Dallas Mavericks (2023–Present)

Morris was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on February 6, 2023, along with Kyrie Irving. He re-signed with the Mavericks on September 16, 2023. Morris reached the 2024 NBA Finals with the Mavericks, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. On September 11, 2024, Morris re-signed with the Mavericks again.

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	63	7	19.5	.399	.347	.717	4.4	1.0	.7	.7	7.4
2012–13	Phoenix	82*	32	22.4	.407	.336	.732	4.8	1.3	.9	.8	8.2
2013–14	Phoenix	81	0	26.6	.486	.315	.792	6.0	1.8	.8	.6	13.8
2014–15	Phoenix	82	82*	31.5	.465	.318	.763	6.2	2.3	1.2	.5	15.3
2015–16	Phoenix	37	24	24.8	.397	.289	.717	5.2	2.4	.9	.5	11.6
Washington	27	21	26.4	.467	.316	.764	5.9	1.4	.9	.6	12.4
2016–17	Washington	76	76	31.2	.457	.362	.837	6.5	1.7	1.1	.6	14.0
2017–18	Washington	73	73	27.0	.480	.367	.820	5.6	1.9	.8	.5	11.5
2018–19	Washington	34	15	26.0	.436	.333	.781	5.1	1.8	.7	.6	11.5
Oklahoma City	24	1	16.1	.391	.339	.737	3.8	.8	.5	.1	6.5
2019–20	Detroit	44	16	22.5	.450	.397	.772	3.9	1.6	.6	.3	11.0
2019–20†	L.A. Lakers	14	1	14.2	.406	.333	.833	3.2	.6	.4	.4	5.3
2020–21	L.A. Lakers	61	27	19.7	.405	.311	.720	4.4	1.2	.4	.3	6.7
2021–22	Miami	17	1	17.5	.474	.333	.889	2.6	1.4	.4	.1	7.6
2022–23	Brooklyn	27	1	10.6	.402	.408	1.000	2.2	.9	.3	.2	3.6
2022–23	Dallas	8	1	8.7	.424	.364	—	1.5	.8	.1	.0	4.5
2023–24	Dallas	26	1	8.3	.338	.357	.833	1.5	.6	.2	.1	2.5
Career		776	379	23.6	.445	.343	.778	4.9	1.5	.8	.5	10.3

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017	Washington	13	13	28.7	.407	.368	.806	6.3	1.7	.9	1.3	12.1
2018	Washington	6	6	30.2	.490	.167	.900	7.5	1.7	.7	.8	9.8
2019	Oklahoma City	5	0	11.8	.313	.286	.778	2.6	1.0	.2	.6	3.8
2020†	L.A. Lakers	21	2	18.4	.449	.420	.778	3.0	1.0	.3	.1	5.9
2021	L.A. Lakers	4	1	9.5	.222	.250	.667	1.0	.8	.0	.3	2.3
2022	Miami	1	0	3.5	.000	—	—	1.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
2024	Dallas	1	0	12.0	.200	.333	—	4.0	.0	.0	.0	3.0
Career		51	22	20.6	.418	.368	.800	4.2	1.2	.5	.6	7.3

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2008–09	Kansas	35	7	15.6	.448	.188	.650	4.4	1.0	.4	.7	4.6
2009–10	Kansas	36	2	17.6	.566	.526	.622	5.3	1.1	.4	1.0	6.8
2010–11	Kansas	38	35	24.4	.589	.424	.673	8.3	1.4	.8	1.1	13.6
Career		109	43	19.3	.553	.404	.653	6.1	1.2	.6	.9	8.5

Personal Life and Family

Morris (right) and his brother Marcus Morris Sr.

Markieff Morris is seven minutes older than his identical twin brother, Marcus. Markieff is a fan of the Dallas Cowboys football team. His brother Marcus supports the Philadelphia Eagles. Markieff's nickname is "Keef."

Markieff and his wife, Thereza Wright-Morris, have a daughter. The Morris twins also started the Family Over Everything Foundation. This organization helps people in communities that need support, especially in Philadelphia.

Images for kids

Morris with the Washington Wizards in 2018
Morris in 2012
Morris in 2016
Morris (right) and his brother Marcus Morris Sr.