NBA fans still vividly remember Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic and former Miami Heat player Markieff Morris’s horrifying in-game collision which took place in November 2021. Jokic had shoved Morris to the floor during the fourth quarter of the match. Morris was fined $50,000 for the scuffle with Jokic. The incident resulted in an altercation and Jokic was later suspended for one game. Recalling the incident recently, Morris had a message for Jokic.
“So, the shot was — it was a little hard. It was like a little whiplash. So, I mean, to be 350, catching me off guard, he really ain’t do s—. But at the time, I was a little off. It was more so with the Miami Heat, they were just trying to protect me from…myself. But I was cleared to play like two weeks after that — they just held me out. So, it really wasn’t one of those things where I was injured or in pain or anything like that. … He snuck me, yeah. It was a sucker shot. But he gon’ get his, though. Don’t trip,” Morris told Matt Barnes on Showtime’s All The Smoke podcast.
Nikola Jokic, on the other hand, appeared to be unapologetic about the event. “It’s a stupid play, I feel bad. I’m not supposed to react that way, but it’s in the middle of the game, I get hit … I just needed to protect myself,” Jokic had said back then.
This in-match altercation triggered an online spat, with Jokic’s brothers and the Morris twins getting involved in a war of words. Things got ugly after Marcus Morris shared a post on social media that read, “Waited till bro turned his back smh. NOTED.”
The Jokic brothers responded to the post by accusing Morris of threatening the Denver Nuggets basketballer.
Markieff Morris’s career has not been quite smooth since his on-court clash with Nikola Jokic in 2021. He could manage just seven appearances in the remainder of the 2021-22 regular season. In the last campaign, Morris succeeded in taking part in 35 matches. The 34-year-old guided the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA title in 2020. Morris was part of the Brooklyn Nets and the Dallas Mavericks last season.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic has been in a rich vein of form in recent times. He came up with a sensational performance last season to help the Denver Nuggets claim their maiden NBA title. The Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals last time. Jokic has already won two NBA Most Valuable Players (MVP) awards and the 28-year-old Serbian will be aiming to carry forward his brilliance once again this season.
The Denver Nuggets will start their title defence with a match against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 24. The opening night of the NBA season will have the Phoenix Suns lining up against the Golden State Warriors.
