NBA

Ranking The Five Biggest NBA Fights In League History

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James Boutros
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James Boutros Sports Editor

Growing up, James was fascinated with watching sports. This led to an interest in research and stats and writing betting analysis for a variety of sports. James has graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.

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Sports Editor

Updated03 Jan 2023

Ron Artest

NBA games can become very physical and intense, which can cause players to lose their temper.

While it does not happen very often in the modern NBA, fights do break out during basketball games.

Recently, a fight broke out during the Detroit Pistons versus Orlando Magic game, resulting in the suspension of 11 players.

Pistons guard Killian Hayes and Magic forward Moe Wagner got into an altercation and Hayes knocked out Wagner with a punch from behind.

Luckily for the league, the fans in Detroit stayed in the stands this time around.

Below, we will discuss top five biggest fights in NBA history.

Top Five Fights That Changed The NBA

Some NBA fights have been more memorable than others.

In fact, the NBA’s biggest stars have been involved in high-profile altercations that have changed the course of the league.

Below, we’ll rank the top-five biggest fights in the history of the NBA.

5. Denver Nuggets vs New York Knicks (2006)

This brawl occurred on December 16, 2006, roughly two years after the Malice at the Palace.

It may not have been the most brutal brawl but the league’s punitive measures against the participants effectively removed fisticuffs from the sport.

The Knicks were at home and getting blown out and they were very upset the Nuggets still had their starters on the floor.

Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas told Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby that they should not have been in the game. Thomas later said the message was “It wouldn’t be a good idea for you to rub it in and go to the basket and dunk it on our guys.”

The Knicks coach subbed in Mardy Collins, who would flagrant foul JR Smith shortly after. Smith got up and started chirping Collins. Then, Nate Robinson got in Smith’s face and that’s when things started to get ugly.

Anthony shoved Robinson, who got tangled up with Smith, and the two got into a fight that went into the stands.

As things looked to be calming down, Anthony punched Collins.

Jared Jeffries then chased Anthony to near half-court before being tackled by a Denver Nuggets player. After the Malice at the Palace, the late NBA Commissioner David Stern came down hard and suspended seven players for a total of 47 games.

Carmelo Anthony, who was leading the league in scoring at the time, was suspended for 15 games.

4. Phoenix Suns vs New York Knicks (1993)

On March 23, 1993, the Phoenix Suns took on a physical New York Knicks team.

The Suns stomped the Knicks 121-92.

But during the game, a bench-clearing brawl broke out which saw six ejections and 12 technical fouls.

It all started before halftime. It was a battle between Knicks point guard and current Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers and Suns point guard Kevin Johnson.

The two exchanged words after Johnson deflected an inbounds pass. On the ensuing pass, Rivers bumped Johnson, and Johnson drew a whistle.

Doc Rivers got in the face of the referee and then went chest-to-chest with Johnson, and while benches cleared, things did not get out of hand at this point.

On the next possession, Rivers drew a charge on Johnson and talked smack. When the Knicks got the ball back, Rivers went to screen Johnson, and Johnson nailed Rivers in the chest with his shoulder.

Rivers got up and charged Johnson as the halftime buzzer went off and that’s when the game got out of control.

Greg Anthony, who was injured and was not playing in the game, came from the bench, exchanged words with Johnson, and then punched Johnson right in the face.

Anthony and Johnson were on the floor with a bunch of people on top of them. Knicks head coach Pat Riley infamously had his pants ripped during the altercation.

This forced the league to change rules that increased penalties for fighting and leaving the bench during a fight.

3. Julius Erving vs Larry Bird (1984)

In the 1980s, the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics owned the Eastern Conference.

From 1980-1987, the Celtics or 76ers represented the East in the NBA Finals.

Julius Erving and Larry Bird were two of the most popular players in the league.

Well on November 9, 1984, two of the biggest stars in the NBA got into an altercation.

It started with an offensive foul being called on Bird and he was not happy about it.

Bird went down the court, kind of stomping his feet.

Erving was actually trying to calm Bird as it looked like Bird was getting really heated at the referee.

Erving extended his arm but ended up grabbing Bird’s neck by accident.

Larry got heated after Erving accidentally grabbed him by the neck and a brawl broke out.

The two stars exchanged punches. Moses Malone and M.L. Carr got into a fight.

The benches cleared and there was a pile of players on the floor fighting.

In all, 17 players and 76ers coach Billy Cunningham were all fined.

Erving and Bird got the biggest of the fines. They were each fined $7,500, which was the second-largest fine in NBA history at the time.

2. The Punch (1977)

The sports world changed with one punch on December 9, 1977.

The Houston Rockets were taking on the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the opening minute of the second half, the game took an ugly turn of events.

Lakers’ Kermit Washington and Houston’s Kevin Kunnert jostled while the Rockets were on a fast break.

The two traded punches before Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar intervened and grabbed Kunnert. Seeing this tussle in the distance, Rockets captain Rudy Tomjanovich charged toward the action.

Kermit Washington saw Tomjanovich coming and he stopped, turned, planted, and punched Tomjanovich right in the face.

The punch was almost fatal.

Tomjanovich was raced to the hospital and he was told he may not survive. He suffered a fractured skull, broken jaw, broken nose, other facial injuries, and leakage of spinal fluid.

Washington was suspended for 60 days without pay and fined $10,000.

Tomjanovich did not suit up again that season but was able to return the following year.

The late David Stern said, “you can’t discuss violence in any sport without thinking about what happened between Rudy and Kermit,”. He continued saying “It crystallized and focused and forever emblazoned on the consciousness of all athletes what can happen.”

1. Malice At The Palace (2004)

November 19, 2004, will always be remembered for the biggest and most infamous brawl in NBA history.

The Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons game was coming to an end before a shoving match started the historical brawl.

Detroit center Ben Wallace attempted a layup when Ron Artest fouled him hard. Wallace shoved Artest, both teams confronted each other at midcourt, and the benches emptied.

Artest laid on the scorer’s table to wait for the altercation to come to a close when a Pistons’ fan threw a beer and hit Artest.

The Pacers’ player charged the stands, which sparked a scary fight between players and fans that went from the seats to the court.

“It felt like we were trapped in a gladiator-type scene where the fans were the lions and we were just trying to escape with our lives,” Pacers special assistant to the CEO Chuck Person said. He continued “That’s how it felt. That there was no exit. That you had to fight your way out.”

There were legal repercussions for players and fans.

Following the Malice at the Palace, the NBA revised arena policies regarding security and alcohol sales.

All in all, suspensions from the fight totaled 146 games and $10 million in forfeited paychecks.

This was the worst possible scenario for the NBA but it has never been repeated.