[Highlight] Marcus Smart throws a punch and whiffs at Charles Bassey and gets thrown out immediately
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Holy shit he actually threw a punch lol
In front of a ref lmao
*while the ref held the other guy back
Schools be like
Both receive 3 day suspension and 40 hours community service, zero tolerance!
Was the ref a girl? was she screaming at the top of her longs for them to stop before she held him back ?
I don’t think it matters where the ref is if you swing on someone like that lol
Having someone hold you down while another person takes a free swing is some BS
marcus not smart
Almost clocked the ref too, how many games do you get if you land a clean right hook on a ref?
82
Such a Marcus Smart move lmao
and in typical NBA player fashion didn’t connect and was trash
backing up before he’s even done throwing the punch lmao
these step-backs are plaguing the league
He’s clearly gathering, bro. C’mon!
harden takes three steps back every time he throws a punch
You just don’t understand prime punching form. Obviously they teach you to throw your ass backwards while throwing your arm forwards. It’s a secret technique.
thats just physics, gotta push as far back as possible for the rebound punch right after
it’s a Smart technique
The step-back punch
Shaolin Basketball when?
Well you can say he was smart to do a run away punch because Bassey is not only bigger but taller than him. At the end of the day, it was a dumb move.
Marcus Dumb.
He wanted to punch him but didn’t want to fully commit
thats actually crazy work, i used to like this guy but yeesh.
I mean isnt that how you supposed to fight? Punch and defend yourself by creating distance?
Well usually you’d want the punch to land, so you’re trying to punch through your target. Then you would create distance afterwards by either rolling with the punch, ducking/leaning with the upper body, or taking actual steps sideways/backwards. You do not step backwards before your arm is extended 99.999% of the time, though.
Dude also waited until the ref grabbed Bassey’s arms so he couldn’t even protect himself if he wanted to. Smart’s a bitch here
He’s been a bitch his whole NBA career. Only time he ever actually stood on business was when that fat white guy called him the n-word during a game while he was at Oklahoma St. and he damn near Malice’d him
That was admittedly pretty funny of smart
He’s been a bitch his whole NBA career.
I’ll always appreciate that the Celtics traded him away right before they won a Championship.
Playing the tough guy then scrams when the other retaliate. That’s Marcus “SMART”.
Swing
Miss
And
Retreat
Tactically
The S.M.A.R.T. System
Bitch ass boy with the bitch ass move.
Not all NBA players miss. You just gotta do it during practice….
That’s why you do it at practice so you don’t miss in actual games
Hey he clipped his nose
What this guy said don’t worry about any of this shit being real punches they don’t want to get in trouble or lose money
Already better than mlb bullpen fights
ho-ho-ho hold me back!
On a guy that was being held.
Thats every pro, non-fighting sport.
Funny enough, most of y’all on social media are worse.
Well I’d expect a professional athlete who is in the 99th percentile of all physical attributes to throw better punches than a random reddit user
He’s a basketball player, not a Boxer.
what a weird comment lol
Not weird at all. All of you fight experts on social media love to talk but couldn’t throw an accurate punch to save your life. You must be one of them lol.
To be fair, when your wingspan is a full mile long you end up losing some accuracy at the end of your punches
He even airballed the punch like he is shooting 3’s.
He was 2⁄2 this game. Now he’s 2⁄3.
Marcus Smart punching air right now
2⁄2 this game and 36.8% on the season but go off I guess
Over his thirteen year career, he’s shooting 32.5% from but still taking 5 per game for some reason.
You know your homerism is too strong when you’re trying to defend Marcus Smart as a good shooter, minutes after he airballs a punch. 😂
You know OP did not mean no career when saying that lmao.
If someone’s shooting well from 3 this season, and is 100% from 3 in this same game (albeit on a low sample size) it’s dumb to take a shot at his 3 point skills.
Marcus Smart’s 3s have shot Boston out of so many wins do not die on this hill man.
He’s got a lot of great qualities and a lot of bad ones.
what was he thinking bro.
Not only did he miss but punched him after Bassey got held back
What moving from CA to TX does to a mf
If bassey retaliated Smart would’ve been pummeled. There was a slight mix-up and then that happened
kinda. His ass was going backwards when he threw that punch, which is why he did not connect.
I didn’t expect him to actually throw one.
What led up to this? Not that it matters, just curious.
I wonder how long this suspension will be.
Imagine breaking your hand and missing 20 games as the 30 years old reigning MVP and most awarded player in league history (already, at that point) for throwing a punch.
Kareem did that.
Now, for sure that’s dumb, but a lot of the comments here are unhinged (people writing “what a bitch”).
bruh that has to be a suspension for at least a few games right? bro literally threw a punch and slightly grazed him
2 games (going by what the NBA did to Jose Alvarado for punching Mark Williams) Maybe 3 since it’s Marcus Smart and he has a bit of a history.
Alvarado punched Mark Williams? Is that the largest height difference in a fight in professional sports history?
The chip on his shoulder adds to the height
back in my day we called it the Napoleon complex and having a fragile ego/being sensitive
He also squared up with Thomas Bryant when he was back on the Pels lol
There is that one fight of Fedor Emelianenko vs Hong Man Choi fight(Fedor won)
Fedor is the GOAT tho
I actually remember that fight.
It’s when I learned that mark williams teeth are made out of string cheese and vitamix
Alvarado gonna punch the fuck out of you for saying that
Not sure who the shortest guy Zdeno Chara ever fought was.
Realistically, I’m sure some semi-pro boxing match none of us have ever heard of holds the record
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NpBnZoWqt6A&ra=m
Did it connect? Ibaka and Robin Lopez each got 1 game for throwing punch at each other, both missed
Ibaka also got 3 games for chokeholding marquese Chriss against the stanchion and throwing a punch lol
Naji got like a 5 game suspension or something for Nurkic
Two weeks, with pay
Houston can use plenty of strip club bartenders.
Marcus not so Smart
I mean, there’s no obligation for them to be consistent with past years. Kinda depends on the tone they’re going for. Guess we’ll see.
He thought GTA6 was coming out tomorrow.
Tbf the pre order is
Absolutely braindead. If you’re gonna throw a punch at least make it count
Watch it be like 1 game.
Nah, a small fine and he has to get up in front of the class and apologize. Also no recess for a week.
Gotta eat lunch with the principal
Nah man everyone knows these bitch ass mfs wont throw anything, unless it actually connected make it like a game, maybe two.
Marcus Smart is with the shit that shot was meant to connect
What the fuck is this dude doing
Getting himself ejected.
Just walked to the locker room knowing he was gone.
I was sitting behind the rockets bench and smart kept blowing kisses to I think his daughter in the crowd. Then proceeds to do this
Those kisses were for you ❤️
This makes the whole thing way funnier
Ikr lol
GTA VI bruh
It’s crazy, doesn’t he know that Draymond is the only one who’s allowed to punch anyone on the warriors?
Trying to get suspended early to get days off for GTA 6 release
Going out sad since the celts won a chip after dumping his ass
We have Jrue at home.
…throwing a punch
How can he punch?!
Risking a multi-game suspension just to hit pure air
IM INSECURE YOU CANT TELL
Have you seen his game? Smart flops and grabs and acts up. He’s the worst. He might have mental health issues honestly. It’s bizarre.
Retaliating after that punk tried to rip his shoulder out of its socket!!
Yeah he might get suspended for this in addition to the ejection lmao
It’s gotta be a suspension, what, 2-3 games?
Robin Lopez and Ibaka got one game for throwing punches that landed.
marcus a dirty player though, so they may give him more.
I’d be surprised if it’s more than 1 game tbh
id expect 1-2
Yeah I had the notion that they rarely suspend any real amount
I remembered Green’s but that was the team
Even Stewart only got like a week for going after Lebron lol
Given his history I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 3 games
This sport is wild lmao because in football this would be a month at least
Most likely. Maybe more since he actually touched his nose a bit.
This gotta be like 5. If he connects, he could have legit hurt Bassey.
Absolutely
Just in time for GTA VI. He aint slick.
Guy tried to injure a vet when you ain’t got many years left thats EXTRA fucked
Marcus Dumb
Why, why, why did this comment make me cry from laughter for first time since 2024
Sometimes it’s the dumb ones that slip between your ribs and really get yeah
Is this Timmy’s burner account?
Sounds rough
Genuinely one of the stupidest things I’ve seen an NBA player do.Waited for the ref to grab the arm..
Lotta people didn’t know there was a b in dumb.
Marcus Make Play On Defense, Marcus Smart Again
Marcus Dum. Everyone knows ‘dum’ has no ‘b’.
bassey ducked the hell out of that, thats lowkey impressive as hell
Genuinely a terrific slip from Bassey. Great instincts.
Excellent reflexes
Everyone is saying he wiffed, but nah bro he matrixed it.
We know who Draymond is sparring with
Nah, wasn’t a shot to the balls.
yeah these dodges were obviously perfected while rebounding for Dray
he got that warriors training camp invite and immediately got in the ring to train in case
What set Marcus off?
literally smart hooked bassey on a rebound and for some reason got mad at him lol
they were fighting for a rebound. but not particularly hard. nothing you don’t see 50 times a game. bassey just looked confused lol, it was rly out of nowhere.
Yeah you don’t want to be in the fight where the other person can dodge like that.
and where the other dude is a 6’11 nba player lol. smart doesn’t consider trying this shit if there aren’t 8 other players and 3 refs to immediately separate them. one ref was already holding bassey back before smart even threw the damn punch 😭
Bassey also had both arms being held down when Marcus threw the punch. Such a sucker move by Smart.
kobe wouldn’t have flinched
I peeped
Marcus would have had problems if he threw hands back
I mean Smart somehow backed away while throwing a punch at the same time. So wasn’t hard to dodge. Like what was his ideal outcome?
At least in hockey when they punch each other it’s just a mini boxing match for fun. Literally, what is Smart thinking here?
this was one of the more inexplicable altercations i’ve seen in a while lol. they weren’t even fighting that hard for the rebound, it was normal rebounding stuff you see on every play. he must have already been tilted from something else bc this was so dumb and weird. bassey just looked confused after the fact
Yeah I wasn’t watching the game but I had the same feeling that bassey just looked kind of confused for a second that a punch got thrown his way. Smarts always been a head case though so who knows what set him off.
DRAYMOND NO!
Sorry, force of habit
Doris… is that you?
Lmao I’ve been dying at her spending the last 2 minutes trying to find some way to blame this on Draymond.
Well you see Draymond just being there made Marcus Smart angry and led him to making that punch
That should really be a technical on Draymond as well
Just to be safe
that brotha needs help
I love how the only thing that our fanbases, hell EVERY fanbase agrees is how absolutely fucking shitty and annoying the goddamn broadcast is for ESPN.
Read this as “Kal-El, No!”
Me too! 😂
how could draymond DO THIS?
Don’t forget you guys have Miles Bridges now.
Certified Udokaball Moment
Now cheat on your hot wife, with a female staff member and harass her when she ends it.
Don’t forget to yell at your players like an abusive stepfather on the sideline
Gotta square up on opposing players like you’re a tough guy too!
Huang with mixed up details?
Similar for sure but no, he basically did that and got fired from the Celtics for it.
god forbid a fella is quirky
Can’t even get a lil motion these days
Jensen nodded
Ah yes, CUM
Thank you. I really wish more people would call out how trash a human being and coach Udoka is. I’m stunned that Houston kept him on after he couldn’t figure out how to get his team past a 41 year old Lebron James and a bunch of mid level vets and role players. That shit was embarrassing for Houston and for some reason they kept that wannabe tough guy loser around as a head coach.
yea and their offense still looks suspect to me overall this year, its just that having FVV as a guy who can make threes and doesn’t dribble the ball off his foot or throw it out of bounds every other play raises their floor by default. i still feel like their shit will get shut down by the first decent playoff defense they see. although amen is also a part of that. dude cannot make a shot if he isn’t 1 foot from the rim and every defense knows it.
Lmao bassey with the “wtf are you doing” look
I don’t see that Bassey tried to pull his arm or anything. Looked like totally routine holding.
Smart hooked Bassies arm first and he simply did it back. Legit insane behavior to fly off the handle like that
A slight overreaction
In another angle, it may have looked like Bassey pushed Smart off with his elbow to his face and that may had set him off.
And even if he did, Rockets had already done exactly that to Curry and put him out of the game. The seventh time Rockets intentionally injured Curry during Iwe’s run as coach.
Disagree
Marcus smart crash out, incredible composure by Bassey
Good compsure, and great work by the ref to just bear hug him instantly to help with the compsure.
Very true, its been a long time since ive seen a flagrant 2 where thats the only thing called on a play
Really, just about everyone did a great job there. Bassey keeps relatively cool, the other Warriors players quickly push Smart away but don’t escalate, another Rockets player comes in to get Smart away from people in other jerseys, security races onto the scene to create a buffer…
Hell, for as fucking dumb as throwing the punch was, I’ll even give him a small amount of credit for listening to the guy saying something along the lines of “don’t hang around, get your ass to the locker room, they’re going to eject you anyway”.
Honestly feels strange to see a punch thrown in a sportsball game that doesn’t turn into a donnybrook (not counting properly courted Hockey fights, of course).
That’s wasn’t very Smart.
Smart needs to ask Draymond for some lessons on throwing those
For real, what a terrible punch. Zero leg involvement.
Draymond: “You gotta go for the nuts, dude”
I don’t condone fighting, but does the NBA have a history of throwing bad punches for such insane athletes?
Nah go look it up, they used throw down back in the day. Even the star players, but they made fighting punishments so punitive that the players are afraid to connect.
Yeah they wanted to make sure there was never anything close to the Malice at the Palace ever again
These aren’t fighters, and most of them have long limbs. Unless they have a fighting past like the Morris twins, I wouldn’t expect someone good at hoops to be naturally good at fighting.
They’re never trying to actually fight. There’s no realistic outcome even if you sucker punch somebody. So it’s realistically a loss of pay. Considering these coast for millions, they have to just put on the show for the “culture” side of the basketball game. You wouldn’t reasonably risk breaking your hand in a game that surrounds its use.
Hockey players on the other hand, are a different breed.
I mean hockey isn’t really fighting either. You can’t generate that much power on skates.
Yes and no. You’re correct that the fact they both players are sliding around the whole time keeps a lid on the level of force they can exert. But two dudes grabbing collars punching each other in the face repeatedly is still definitely fighting.
There’s also the fact that hockeys players could conceivably kill each other just in the course of normal play. We just saw a guy get knocked out cold by a completely legal hit. Fights have been tolerated by the league because it provides a relief valve for players so they don’t resort to just driving people into the boards at full speed.
Go watch modern hockey fights and tell me these dudes aren’t actually fighting. Enforcers are absolutely training for their fights and it shows. The best fighters now would put Tie Domi to shame.
Tell that to Jeff Van Gundy
Tell it to Rudy Tomjanovich. Dude was legit tasting spinal fluid.
ask rudy tomjanovich
They aren’t fighters…
Those who duck punches are also insane athletes.
Great points. Hahaha. Lemme go review the best fights again. The best job is Chuck on Shaqs dome.
Im sure if they allowed or minimally punished fighting like Hockey or baseball (they throw shitty punches too) you’d see better punches, friend.
Trash talking is a core part of basketball since youth and sometimes getting physical seems like the next logical escalation even though no one is trying to actually fight and hurt someone. Of course, there are are exceptions in the NBA, but when it comes down to getting physical, most guys just wanna shove, throw false punches, and leave with a sense of bravado to get in their opponent’s heads. Most of the biggest moments in the NBA are players talking absolutely crazy to each other and going basket for basket.
cause its all a show
Again. I can’t say this enough. Being a good athlete doesn’t make you a good fighter.
They are also fighting people with very impressive reflexes , that was a solid swing and could’ve knocked him down if Bassey doesn’t pull back.
Marcus Stupid
when I’m having a bad day I put on highlights of Marcus Smart flopping around like a fish in game 6 of the ‘22 finals
How do you a miss a punch from that close lmao
He’s 2 feet shorter than Bassey so it is actually not that close lol.
Also he punched while moving backward like a little b*****
Throw it while moving backwards
Least dirty rockets play
“MARCUS SMART THREW A PUNCH”
The call in realtime was amazing
If this was really just over some light fouls then this such a bad look for Marcus
I’m actually amused by how how much of an overreaction that was by Smart
Bassey said in the post game interview that he thinks Smart was just trying to get out of the game. Certainly seemed like it.
Especially since he was the one who hooked Bassey’s arm.
Some times it be the person you most suspect
Wasn’t Draymond tho, but Smarcus is up there
Warriors fans whining about a team being dirty is hilariously ironic
Knicks fan chiming in lmao
Yes?
Knicks are notoriously known for being clean surely
Complaining about being dirty shouldn’t be a thing where certain fan bases can’t say anything
a dirty play is a dirty play
Lol okay but when its us then your tune changes real quick
You’re allowed to call other players dirty as long as you understand your own players are dirty which believe it or not i’ve seen some Warriors fans admit
It is if they act like their team isn’t dirty.
Eh if an org is known for being dirty they don’t really have any room to talk.
Warriors: Draymond dirtiest
Rockets: Smart dirty, Amen took out Butler’s legs in the playoffs 2 years ago, Sengun annoying/whiny
Edit: forgot to mention Dillon purposely going after Steph’s injured hand in the same playoffs 2 years ago
Who tf is whining?😂😂
Warriors fans?
it really isn’t considering all of the injuries we’ve had against the rockets
like i’m sure you would be mad too if you had to deal with the shit dillon brooks did or the constant fouling of steph
I’m sure players have never gotten injured against the warriors
you can’t seem to use your brain
this is his 3rd injury against the rockets in the past three seasons. this includes dillon brooks literally attempting to swipe down on his fingers and amen thompson grabbing curry every play
his injury today was atleast partially from sengun hooking onto his arm and yanking it backwards (he immediately grabs his oblique area after this play)
is it still “hilariously ironic”?
Warriors fan whining is hilariously predictable
You seriously cant be talking about dirty plays when your team harbored and fervently defends draymond
We absolutely can and will continue to. Welcome to sports fandom
Nah, your team has been the dirtiest pieces of shot the last 10+ years. Y’all deserve every retaliation you get
Learned from draymond
Your team is coached by ime udoka. Bitch ass team
Your team set illegal screens for a decade
At least we can make a three when given 27 chances
And they dominated yall dirty ass players in that decade
Battery, sexual harassment, illegal screens. 🤣
0-27
Smart is lucky Dray wasn’t out there
Weak ass punch
Draymond is a fake tough guy. He don’t want smoke with people who are really about it.
Smart’s a fake tough guy, too, tho
Clearly learned yourself wasn’t enough yall had to injure curry for the 3rd season in a row
Except Draymond got 4 rings lol
Damn i didn’t know rings excused shitty behavior. Maybe Kobe Bryant is forgiven too according to you lol
I would think twice about this one
Most dirty player still on your team tho
calm down draymond enabler
Bet you love Draymond though. Listen to yourself
Doesn’t mean rockets aren’t dirty
They aren’t, you like most Warriors fans are just incredibly whiny.
Stfu, he threw a punch bud
Literally rockets fan saying earlier that they don’t do this shit earlier.
Draymond still the king of punching people out though, lol.
Dumb’s 13th career ejection, they just said.
Proud of Bassey and the Warriors for not engaging in fighting back. But why the fuck is Thompson shooting a free throw?
Had a three-point play during the incident
Thought the Dubs should have challenged it - Thompson pushed off (extended his off hand a lot).
Fouled right before the punch
He was fouled on his shot attempt prior to the punch
Would love to know what Bassey said
Bass casually weaving LMAO
right in front of the ref too..what a jackass
Marcus Dumbfuck strikes again. Add it to the career highlight reel
It’s so fucking funny to see that these are the best of the best athletes in the entire world and yet they still fully and whole heartedly whiff punches.
I feel like there hasn’t been a genuine fist to face full contact altercation since the 80s, and I’m talking genuine chin contact, not some back and forth arm flailing that just happened to connect.
You’ve glossed over the Malice at the Palace.
Killian Hayes also landed a punch on Mo Wagner, but it was to the back of the head, so probably easier to hit a guy who isn’t looking.
To be fair, I think lol, I think they meant to cherry pick to fights that happen entirely on the court hahaha
Yea true, but in terms of the broader modern NBA, it just doesn’t happen anywhere near that.
malice at the palace is THE nba fight
Athlete != fighter
See: Robinson, Nate
People underestimate the technique required to throw a solid punch that a) lands and b) avoids self-injury.
No I get it, but it’s just interesting how accurate these athletes can be across many sports, and yet a fist being an extension of their body just doesn’t seem to be as accurate
Rondo did connect lol
And that’s why he’s getting a statue
What’s up with these ex-celtics
Rudy Tomjanovich literally almost died after 1 punch but that was in 1977
That shit was horrible. Sucker punched while running.
I wouldn’t call it a sucker punch. Yes, Rudy clearly wanted to break it up but if you’ve been engaged and see someone coming in on your periphery, I get instinctively swinging. Hes also expressed regrets, but please, a sucker punch implies more than what happened
Washington was reacting instinctively, but punching someone not expecting it and not defending against it is a sucker punch.
If you swing at someone you arent fighting. Then it’s a sucker punch.
It was an extremely stupid and reckless punch. Everyone was calming things down. Basically scuffle 101. But Kermit thought he was in the ring.
Could taste his spinal fluid from his cracked skull
Specifically why the league takes punches so seriously and why so few players want to risk the repercussions of throwing one.
Rudy Tomjanovich is why.
Damn, Washington hit Rudy T so hard Ace_FGC could taste it.
This is what happens when you throw a punch while you’re actively running away at the same time. Smart ain’t smart.
gotta watch baseball or hockey for the good punches
Rougned odor and Jose ramirez, the no contact sport has the undisputed best punches
The name Rougned Odor always sounded like someone trying to describe a bad smell.
Bautista sure smelt what the Rougned is cookin’.
And DOWN GOES ANDERSON!!!
Baseball?! Bro come on, they are notorious for not doing shit
Baseball is also terrible. They regularly whiff, too.
Draymond would like a word
we talkin about practice?
Would like a word or another person to punch?
Tbf that was a straight sucker punch on Poole
Doesn’t matter the form was exquisite
I mean throwing a proper punch does require some skill.
This is like saying it’s so funny to see Nico Collins miss a 3 pointer
Nico Collins is closer to MJ than I am to Nico Collins.
Nico Collins is also closer to Brian Scalabrine than we are
Good. Nothing is more lame than adult millionaires throwing punches over a basketball game.
Jordan Poole
If anything it shows how hard boxing actually is, or that some punches are missed on purpose. I don’t think that the consequences of a true bare knuckle brawl is lost on a lot of athletes. There is a reason hockey athletes sponsorship opportunities are limited by comparison. Having bad videos of you are always going to be tough for sponsors to stomach.
Hockey is also way, way less popular
Yes, because of fights. There is a very large demographic that struggles with that aspect.
I think it has more to with how most of the country cannot interact with the sport as kids
The thing is, people aren’t comfortable throwing punches while being close enough to get hit. They try to retreat and throw at the same time so they pull themselves away and whiff.
Not Serge ibaka. That dude was going all out on his haymakers, he just couldn’t aim worth shit
Killian Hayes got Mo Wagner in the back of the head, so I suppose that doesn’t count as fist to chin
Rondo did land at least one on Chris Paul.
Is probably his career highlight.
i will not tolerate such playoff Rondo disrespect
I second that motion. R9 was and is that guy.
Ingram got one too.
Rondo was better than Paul so…..
After Paul tried to poke his damn eye out. I’ll forever hate CP for that shit.
And that’s why he’s getting a statue over LeBron outside Staples Center
As physical and heated as these games get, deep down the rational basketball player knows punching someone in the head bare knuckle is a big risk to their ability to continue making millions of dollars.
They whiff on purpose.
maybe these best athletes in the world are also good at dodging punches
Wemby elbowed Naz Ried in the face during the playoffs. Does that count?
6-foot Jose Alvarado connected on 7-foot-1 Mark Williams last year
Egregious MatP erasure
The chris paul got punched in the face during his fight with rondo and Brandon ingram a few years ago i believe
Ron Artest elbow to Harden
Kobe definitely got rocked that one time
Melo’s sucker punch connected clean!
Bassey weaved the punch
Ron Artest?
Jerry Stackhouse might have a word with you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZSXYMoEoeQ
Their hand-eye coordination is optimized for a basketball, not a fist, so it’s like watching a center shoot a three.
Rudy Tomjanovich and the decades after really created these weird fights lol. A lot of athletes in these non-fighting contact sports realized that you are probably more likely to seriously injure someone from a sucker punch in basketball, than from a punch or kick in a fighting sport. Then of course you have fines and suspensions, Ron Artest situation, etc. Punching someone in an NBA game is a PED indicator and will cost you reputationally and financially.
part of it is that players probably don’t really want to fight on some level. they gotta know it’s just a game and the punishment will be severe if they actually do anything really crazy. half the time it looks like they’re trying harder to look like they’re punching than to actually get a strong hit in.
Clearly he was being pushed away while swinging.
And why would athletes be good at punching? These are dudes with no prospects in life.
I mean I gotta give beef stew a shout he looked like he was gunna kill LeBron and had to be held back by multiple people, then sprinted into the locker room to get around the other side of the stadium to get to him
The Malice in the Palace?
Doug Christie uppercutting Rick Fox comes to mind
Kobe got a handful when he was young
Rondo vs Paul got some clean contact.
Chris Childs punched Kobe in the face
We literally had the biggest brawl in history in the 2000s lol.
Rondo & cp3 was a classic
Say what you will but I would bet 1000$ Marcus Smart would beat the shit out of you.
Chris Childs 2 piecing up Kobe?
I think it’s intentional in some part. Landing a clean punch that does actual damage or draws blood may be more than a 1-3 game suspension. This is basketball, not boxing. The goal is not to KO
Malice at the Palace - 2004
Majority of people on earth do not know how to punch
Also most “hold me back” tough guys haven’t been punched in the face before. And then they stop.
Doris Burke calling Smart “Draymond” accidentally is killing me.
Freudian doesn’t begin to describe it lol
Muscle memory lol
lol she’s such an amateur