Morris twins reunited — and it feels so good
Out of every 1,000 births in the United States in 2009, 33.3 were twin births.
So the chances of being a twin are rare. The chances of twins both reaching the National Basketball Association are beyond minute.
The odds that those twins both reach the NBA and play on the same team are astronomical, yet it’s a reality for the Morris twins.
The 23-year-old brothers, who played on the same team as youths, high schoolers and collegians, have been reunited on the roster of the Phoenix Suns after a Wednesday trade with the Houston Rockets brought younger twin Marcus to join his brother Markieff.
“It feels like a fresh start to my career,” Marcus said Friday at a team shootaround. “I’m happy to be here.”
Marcus spent the first year and a half of his pro career with the Rockets, who drafted him 14th overall in 2011 — one spot after the Suns picked Markieff. Marcus feels like Phoenix is a much better fit for his game.
“Coming out of college, Phoenix knew what I could do. Houston seemed like they were just picking the next best player,” he said. “So I didn’t feel like they had too much time for me or too much of me being in their future plans.
“Being here, I think I’ll be able to sharpen my three skills and be able to show my true, natural position and just be able to play basketball.”
Marcus struggled last season as a rookie, getting into just 17 games with Houston and spending a portion of the year in the D-League. But he’s shown improvement in his second campaign, averaging 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
“With Marcus, we have another long, rangy perimeter defender and you can never have too many defenders,” Suns interim head coach Lindsey Hunter said. “And he can shoot the ball, so all those attributes really help us.”
Marcus is a better outside shooter than his twin brother, and has connected on 74 three-point attempts this season — a figure that ranks behind only Jared Dudley’s 76 on the
Suns’ roster.
Needless to say, Markieff’s pretty psyched about his newest teammate, too.
“It’s something that I didn’t think was going to happen this soon, if ever,” he said. “It was surprising and I’m happy.”
