The NBA’s Morris Twins: Reunited and It Feels So Good

Markieff and Marcus Morris were born seven minutes apart on September 2, 1989. They’ve been inseparable ever since.

They are identical twins. They have the same friends. The same tattoos. The same agent. They live together in the same house, drive to games together in the same car. And they both play the same position for the same team, the Phoenix Suns, making them the NBA’s first set of twin teammates since Tom and Dick Van Arsdale in 1977.

Off the court, they spend even more time together – if that’s possible – settling disputes with games of Madden and enjoying a brotherly bond that, to an outsider, might seem a tad excessive. But to hear Marcus, the younger of the two, explain it, their relationship is essential to remaining focused. It’s a link to their past, and a blueprint for their future.

“We’ve been like this since we were young. We’ve always been doing everything together,” he says. “Whether it’s kickball, baseball, whatever – we’ve always been together.”

It’s also a connection they’ve gone to incredible lengths to maintain over the years. The twins have spent almost their entire basketball lives playing together, beginning in junior high, continuing through high school and college, and now the NBA – a stretch that encompasses nearly half of their time on planet Earth.

“A couple colleges tried recruiting me without Marcus and I just shut it down right away,” Markieff (nickname: “Keef”) states proudly. “That was clear from the beginning. It was always a package deal.”

Thankfully for the twins, Kansas coach Bill Self had no qualms about recruiting the brothers in tandem, and the duo thrived together in Jayhawk blue. The squad won the Big 12 Championship in each of their final two years at KU and Marcus was named conference’s Player of the Year in 2011. Off the court, they both chose American Studies as a major and had quite literally every single class together, with no exceptions.

But through it all, there was a lingering shadow on the horizon: the likely prospect of being split apart for the first time when they entered the NBA. In early 2011, just a few months before the draft, both Markieff and Marcus were asked separately which NBA team they’d most like to play for. Not surprisingly, they gave remarkably similar answers.

“I would pick any team if I could go with my brother,” Markieff said. “Whoever would pick me and my brother, that’d be my vote.”

Minutes later, Marcus added: “Whatever team Keef is with.”

When the 2011 NBA Draft finally arrived, Markieff was taken 13th by the Phoenix Suns. Marcus was drafted 14th by the Houston Rockets, in fitting parallel to their birth order. But there was little joy that night; after years spent competing on the same team, the twins would have to adjust to the concept of playing against each other.

“When we’d play against each other, even though I was with the Rockets and he was with Phoenix, I was still rooting for him, you know?” Marcus says. “It was just an awkward situation ’cause you know you want your team to win, but you also know you want your brother to do well at the same time.”

To maintain their connection, the brothers texted or spoke on the phone every day during the season. Markieff thrived as a rookie, getting significantly more playing time than Marcus – and he spent no shortage of time lobbying Suns management to try to arrange a deal to bring his brother over, even if he knew the odds of it happening were long.

Then, one day after a game in February 2013 – 19 months after their initial separation – Markieff happened to check his Twitter account on his way to a game and found a deluge of comments about his brother. Marcus was on the trading block, as Houston’s ever-hyperactive GM Daryl Morey shopped him to multiple teams.

“I couldn’t believe it, man,” Markieff says. “I had just talked to him the day before and he didn’t know anything about it. I was hearing it was between Phoenix and Boston, and it was actually his choice. That was crazy.”

“They were dumping me for a second round pick,” Marcus adds. “They knew I wanted to be in Phoenix with my brother. So they kinda did me a favor and let me pick which team.”

Naturally, Marcus chose the Suns and a reunion with his brother. And this being 2013, the twins took to social media to share their excitement.

Can’t explain this feeling!!!

— Keef Morris (@Keefmorris) February 21, 2013

Blessed !!! Teamfoe

— Marcus Morris (@MookMorris2) February 21, 2013

For those wondering, “Teamfoe” is the brothers’ personal mantra; it stands for “Family Over Everything.”