The brawl that happened on Sunday night between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons left much to talk about the violent reaction that both LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart had, who received a direct elbow to the eye by the Ohio native. .
The confrontation between the two of them escalated to such a degree that the referees expelled both players (James for the elbow), (Stewart for the retaliation) and the game had to be suspended for several minutes as they managed to control the situation.
Here’s a clip of the incident:
However, despite the chaos that ensued at Little Caesars Arena, this conflict will be forgotten by the NBA community in a few weeks. Unfortunately, throughout the history of this sport there have been massive fights that will remain forever in the memory of attendees and viewers.
Now, without further ado, we present to you the Top 5 of the worst altercations that have happened during an NBA game:
5 – Carmelo Anthony vs. Mardy Collins
Anthony was at his best in 2006. He was the best shooter in the entire league when his squad, the Denver Nuggets, went to New York to face the Knicks on December 16 of that same year. In a game that they had already dominated with a score of 119 to 100 with one minute to play; things got out of hand when JR Smith was physically assaulted by Mardy Collins.
The confrontation between the players of both squads was such that 10 of them were expelled from the match and Carmelo earned a 15-game suspension for physically assaulting Collins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yThlCpGhgyY
4 – Lakers contra Dallas
In another meeting that was also already decided, Andrew Bynum, attacked in the air, when he was going to the basket to JJ Barea. This happened during the 2011 season playoffs. The Mavericks held a three-game lead against the Lakers in the Western semi-final series. Bynum was expelled for the incident.
3 – Julius Erving contra Larry Bird
During the 1980s, the NBA was dominated by the Celtics and the Sixers. From 1980 to 1987 one of those two franchises participated in the Finals. This feud-laden rivalry reached its climax on November 9, 1984 when legend, Larry Bird, lunged at Erving. The two basketball players punched each other in the forehead and disaster flooded the arena as the other players got involved in the brawl.
2 – Malice at the Palace
November 19, 2004 is one of the worst days in NBA history. The scuffle of atomic proportions between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons will live forever in the infamy of America’s professional sports. It all started thanks to a violent push that Pistons player Ben Wallace gave Pacers star Ron Artest in the closing minutes of the game.
Artest tried to calm down and not engage with his rival. For those same reasons, he chose to go sit on the side of the court, but the Dantesque scene began when a fan threw beer at Ron Artest’s face.
1 – The Punch
A single hit was enough to change the course of history. On December 9, 1977, the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers met in a game without many eventualities until the first minute of the second half. LA player Kermit Washington was fighting for the ball against Houston’s Kevin Kunnert.
At a certain point, the two of them started throwing punches and Rockets captain Rudy Tomjanovich ran to help his teammate. Washington visualized him with his peripheral vision and when he was a few meters away, he landed a direct blow to the face. Tomjanovich had to be taken to hospital for reconstructive surgery and according to medical reports, he came close to dying.
The impact was of such magnitude that Tomjanovich suffered fractures to the skull, jaw, nose and a spillage of cerebrospinal fluid. Washington was suspended for 60 days and his reputation was forever ruined.
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