After nearly four years of silence, the Morris twins have finally opened up about their infamous altercation with Nikola Jokic and his brothers, an incident that sparked one of the NBA’s most intense off-court storylines in recent memory.
Appearing on a recent podcast, Marcus and Markieff Morris provided their unfiltered perspective on the 2021 scuffle that left Markieff sidelined for months and fueled a long-standing beef with the notoriously protective Jokic brothers. For the first time, the twins now break it all down, and they aren’t holding back. Markieff Morris explained:
“It was social media. It never went anywhere… It’s a cheap shot. I did a basketball play. If you see the angle, I put my hand up, like I let it know I’m coming towards you. I fouled you. It’s like a hard foul in the game.”
“If you hit me from behind, I think it’s a cheap shot. I turn my back… If you asked me, I would have never ran. Like I’m physically walking. I’m walking away. So I’m not even in the mode of knowing you’re about to hit me.”
“Like it’s like a car crash. I’m just sitting regularly in the car, just hit you in the back. You’re like, woo. So my thing was, I shoved the, I was going to do it. I don’t take nothing back from it.”
“Like, I gave it out a ton of times. So when you get hit, it ain’t like I feel sorry for myself…”
The incident, which took place during a regular-season game between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets, began with Markieff delivering what he described as a hard, intentional foul on Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP retaliated by shoving Markieff from behind, a move many fans and players deemed a “cheap shot.”
The altercation left Markieff with whiplash and a neck injury that kept him out for 58 games. In the aftermath, the Jokic brothers, known for their intense loyalty to Nikola, took to social media, threatening the Morris twins and fueling a dramatic narrative that spilled out well beyond the court.
For months, the situation remained quiet, with both sides avoiding escalation. But the threat of something more physical always lingered. Now, the Morris twins make it clear: if things had ever gone further, they liked their odds.
Despite the bravado, the twins’ tone wasn’t overly aggressive, more defensive than instigative. The interview seemed to serve as a chance to finally clear the air and assert that they never feared the Jokic brothers, nor did they regret their actions.
Time may have cooled tensions, but the scars, both literal and emotional, from that chaotic moment still linger.
