A hefty shove that still carries the echoes of the thud! It was one of the ugliest nights in the NBA world involving the reigning MVP Nikola Jokić. Fans have witnessed the tough nature of the Serbian center throughout his career whenever he does the hard job of protecting the rim and also scoring the buckets. But, it was in 2021, when fans saw the unpleasant side of Joker’s toughness after he knocked down Markieff Morris. It eventually ignited a cross-country sibling rivalry between the Morris Brothers and Jokic Bothers.

It was a Monday night game between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets in November. The Mile-High City had a comfortable lead throughout the game and seemed poised to close out similarly. That was what happened. However, three minutes before the final buzzer, the NBA world witnessed a disturbing event.

After collecting a defensive rebound, Nikola Jokić rushed forward, but Markieff Morris unexpectedly interrupted him with a hard foul. Immediately after the ref’s whistle, Jokic charged at Morris and shoved Morris in the back, leaving him on the floor.

Refs and staff rushed to the ground and took Jokic off the floor, while the medical staff tended to Morris. The star forward, who initially struggled to walk, after a while, picked himself up and walked with his strength. Following the game, none of the Heat players attended the press conference. Meanwhile, Nikola Jokić, on the other end, recorded his perspective.

The Joker said, “It’s a stupid play. I feel bad. I’m not supposed to react that way,” However, he didn’t hesitate to call out Markieff for his hard foul and argued that the shove was meant for his protection. Importantly, the situation wasn’t over very soon. It went off-court, involving Marcus Morris.

Who was involved in the Nikola Jokic-Marieff Morris incident?

First and foremost, Jimmy Butler got entangled in the fight, trying to stand up for his teammate. The league, apart from suspending Jokic and slapping a fine on Morris, also took Butler into the picture. The star forward received a $30k fine for escalating the altercation. Moving on from there, it was all blood relatives who got involved in the fight.

Moments after the altercation, Marcus Morris Jr., Markieff’s twin brother, took to his X handle and wrote, “Waited till bro turned his back smh. NOTED” He accused Nikola Jokić of timing his attack when Morris wasn’t paying attention. Immediately, a handle named (@JokicBrothers ) which is currently deleted, replied, “Your brother made a dirty play first. If you want to make a step further be sure we will be waiting for you.” 

Following that, it was Markieff, who took to his X handle with a sportive mindset and wrote, “I can take my licks and keep pushing. Joker 1 smooth 0 lol.” While there wasn’t much noise for almost two years, Markieff returned, reigniting the debate. Featuring in the All The Smoke podcast in September 2023, he said, “Sucker shot. That’s what we call it in my hood … Took a sucker shot. They call it snuck. He snuck me. It was a sucker shot. He’s gonna get him, though. Don’t trip.”

Currently playing for the Dallas Mavericks, Markieff hasn’t made any move since he made the statement. Watch out for the upcoming season to see if the Morris brothers would engage in another altercation.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.