Philly's Morris twins flourishing in the NBA

Back in 2007, Marcus and Markieff Morris played basketball in Philadelphia in the shadows of Scoop Jardine, Rick Jackson, and Brad Wanamaker.

At the time, Wanamaker was The Inquirer's Southeastern Pennsylvania player of the year as a senior at Roman Catholic High School. Jardine and Jackson were Syracuse-bound seniors at Neumann-Goretti. Meanwhile, the Morris twins were regarded as good but not great seniors at Prep Charter.

Of the five, the Morrises were the least likely to play in the NBA. Or so we thought.

They both start for the Phoenix Suns, who played the 76ers on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

"We didn't start playing until the ninth grade. So we weren't going to get the big publicity that they got," Markeiff said. "What we did was go in the gym. We stayed and worked on our game. We are still working, trying to get better.

"Basketball is our lives. That's what we do. We go out every day and try to get better and have respect in the league."

Markieff is a 6-foot-10 power forward who averaged 14.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals heading into the Sixers contest. He finished with a career-high 30 points, seven rebounds, a career-high-tying five assists, and four steals Monday against the Boston Celtics.

Marcus, a 6-9 small forward, was averaging 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. His best performance was a 21-point effort against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 29. He tied a career high with five three-pointers in that game.

The North Philadelphia natives bought 80 tickets for family members and friends for Friday.

"I think [living in others' shadows] made us work hard," Marcus said. "Coming into high school, I was ranked 130 or something like that in Philly. I was happy with that because I wasn't even a basketball player, and to see my name somewhere."

After Prep Charter, they spent a year at prep school. The Morrises then went on to play at Kansas for three seasons.

Markieff was selected by the Suns with the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. The Houston Rockets drafted Marcus one pick later. He was traded to Phoenix on Feb. 21, 2013.

The 25-year-old twins both had career seasons in just about every statistical category last season. They signed contract extensions to remain in Phoenix on Sept. 29.

Markieff received a four-year deal with $32 million, while Marcus got $20 million over four years.

"Honestly, I think we took a pay cut," Marcus said. "We understood what was at stake. For us, it's not really about the money; it was being with a guy that you been with your whole life.

"It's always been about beating the odds and showing people that we can make it happen no matter what."

Right now, the twins are inseparable. You see one and the other isn't far behind.

They share an eight-bedroom house in the Phoenix area and are big believers that family comes first. To them, teammates are extensions of their family. That's why their mother, Angel, cooked a dinner for the team in Philly on Thursday. After the game Friday, the Morrises were scheduled to treat their teammates to cheesesteaks from Max's Steaks in North Philly.

"The best in the city," Markeiff said.

The Morrises realize the day will come when they'll have to separate. They might live in different homes and different cities, and start families of their own.

"That's going to be fine," Marcus said. "We both have girlfriends right now. When that happens we are going to be fine. We are ready for that.

"But we are young right now. We are going to live our life as young guys and we are going to do what we do."