Top 10 Craziest NBA Fights

During the 1977 Finals, an accidental tangle-up escalated to property damage. After Philadelphia 76ers powerhouse Darryl Dawkins tangled with Bob Goss of the Portland Trail Blazers, Dawkins tried to hit the other player, only to hit his own teammate. Trail Blazer Maurice Lucas then shoved Dawkins before the two squared up and fans and police flooded the court. Both players were ejected. Dawkins was so angry that he ripped a toilet from the wall of his own team’s locker room. The Sixers won this game but lost the next four, leading to Portland’s only championship to date. Some speculate that this particular fight helped motivate the Trail Blazers to win the series.

The legendary Michael Jordan was no stranger to aggressive gameplay, and this incident is a prime example. Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller bumped into Jordan, and the two exchanged some pretty harsh words before things came to blows. Jordan chased down Miller to grab, scratch and punch his face. Miller was ejected, but insanely enough, Jordan was not; in fact, he wasn’t even given a foul. After the game, however, Jordan was fined and given a one-game suspension. As for Miller and the Pacers, they did not advance to the NBA Finals until after Jordan’s second retirement.

During his career in the NBA, Larry Bird was known for trash-talk, but he went a little too far when he elbowed high flyer Dr. J. Despite their off-the court friendship, the two threw punches and grabbed each other’s throats. Both teams’ benches rushed to the court, and Dr. J’s fellow Sixers held Bird as Erving punched the Celtic superstar. This fight resulted in over $30,000 in fines, with Erving and Bird both receiving fines of $7,500, the second-highest fine in the league at the time. Thankfully, after the fight, the two reconciled and are still friends to this day.

Marcus Camby of the Knicks wasn’t known as a confrontational player, but he was understandably ruffled when Spurs player Danny Ferry elbowed him in the chest. After a brief discussion with a ref, Camby dove after Ferry to retaliate. Unfortunately, Camby accidentally hit his own coach Jeff Van Gundy when the coach attempted to intervene. The scuffle resulted in a five-game suspension and $25,000 fine for Camby, a one-game suspension and $7,500 fine for Ferry, and 15 stitches for Van Gundy. As you’ll see in a moment, this wasn’t the only time Jeff Van Gundy was caught in the crossfire of a fight in Madison Square Garden.

At the end of a 1998 Playoffs game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, former teammates Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson bumped into each other, and years of animosity bubbled up into flying fists. Other members of the Heat and Knicks got involved, but the craziest thing about this fight was Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy grabbing Mourning’s leg to try to de-escalate the altercation. As pointed out by Doc Rivers, SB [“Fortunately for these guys, they are both awful fighters.”] as a result, no hits landed and no coaches were trampled during this scuffle. Both Johnson and Mourning received two-game suspensions and missed the end of the series.

Nowadays, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal are everyone’s favorite frenemies on TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” but these two weren’t always so chummy. During a 1999 game, Shaq fouled Barkley, who retaliated by throwing the ball at O’Neal’s head, and the two wound up wrestling to the ground. Both players were suspended, Barkley was fined $5,000 and Shaq was fined $10,000. Thankfully, after the incident, their mothers convinced the players to patch up things, and they made amends over a few terrible rounds of golf. However, this was not the only time Charles Barkley was involved in a fight on the court.

Yes, that’s Charles Barkley once again. The main instigators of this rule-changing fight from 1993, however, were Kevin Johnson and Doc Rivers. Rivers committed an offensive foul on Johnson, and the two got heated, leading their benches to clear out. Thankfully, both teams cooled down, but not for long. Rivers and Johnson clashed again, and a benched Greg Anthony decided to escalate matters by punching Johnson in the face. The teams dogpiled each other, resulting in one of the biggest fights in NBA history as well as suspensions for Johnson, Rivers and Anthony. In fact, Anthony’s involvement off the bench led to stricter league-wide rules regarding fighting which are still in effect to this day.

The Knicks have been involved in their fair share of historic on-court fights, and this incident was no exception. During the 1994 playoffs, Derek Harper of the Knicks and Jo Jo English of the Bulls scuffled at the three-point line right in front of the first row of fans. At the sound of the ref’s whistle, both teams rushed to back up their teammates. The fight escalated and spilled into the stands. This was far from the only time an altercation extended into the crowd, but it’s not every night that the NBA Commissioner is in attendance. David Stern had a front row seat to the action. Harper received a two-game suspension, English received a one-game suspension and the league made stricter rules regarding fights.

There’s just something about Madison Square Garden and fights, isn’t there? This insane, history-making melee from 2006 began at the end of the game, when Knicks player Mardy Collins committed a flagrant foul against Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith. The Nuggets rushed to Smith’s defense, resulting in a huge brawl between both teams that spilled into the stands. The Nuggets and the Knicks were fined half a million dollars each, and seven players, including the league’s top scorer Carmelo Anthony, were suspended for a total of 47 games, making this the most penalized game in history at the time.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable, or in this case perhaps dishonorable, mentions.

Celtics vs. Rockets
7’4” Sampson Collided With 6’1” Sichting, Who Retaliated With a Hit, & Other Players Joined In

Robert Parish vs. Bill Laimbeer
Parish Punched Known Instigator Laimbeer & Didn’t Even Get a Foul Called on Him

Chris Paul vs. Rajon Rondo
Fouls & Shoves Led to Paul & Rondo Throwing Punches & Getting Suspended

Kobe Bryant vs. Chris Childs
Childs Shoved Kobe for Trash-Talking, Leading to a Brawl; They Were Fined & Suspended

Pistons vs. 76ers
Is Anyone Surprised That Bill Laimbeer Was Involved in this Scuffle?

It’s pretty ironic that a man who later changed his name to Metta World Peace was at the center of the worst fight in NBA history. Known at the time as Ron Artest, he committed a foul on Pistons player Ben Wallace, who then shoved Artest. The two got physical, and a fan added to the incident by throwing a Diet Coke in their direction, prompting Artest to climb into the stands. The arena exploded into chaos between players, fans and security. Even after the fighting stopped and players headed to the locker rooms, fans continued to throw drinks. Artest received a 73-game suspension, the longest in league history. Seventy-three additional game suspensions were handed out; players and fans received assault charges; and NBA rules regarding security and alcohol sales at games were changed.