In the history of the NBA, whether players can erupt into conflicts on the court is directly related to the intensity of the game and the refereeing standards. From the perspective of fans and spectators, this is something they are happy to see. Competitive sports inevitably involve intense physical collisions, and conflicts are part of the game. Over the past decade or so, the NBA's viewership has been declining, and its attention has also been decreasing year by year. This is directly related to the game style promoted by the NBA officials. In short, there are too many fouls for minor infractions in today's games, and referees have a significant influence on the game! Why were the games so popular in the past? It was because the league style at that time was to let the players decide more problems on the court themselves, encouraging confrontation while making team tactics more diverse!
In the past few days, the NBA league has experienced two large-scale conflicts, resulting in a total of 9 people being ejected from the scene and the league issuing eight-game suspension fines so far. Let's first review some famous conflict events in NBA history:
Firstly, the most famous conflict event in NBA history is the "Palace Brawl":
During a regular-season game between the Pacers and the Pistons in 2024, the Pacers had an advantage in the first half, while the Pistons made a full comeback in the second half. With 45.9 seconds left in the game, Ben Wallace was fouled hard by Artest while making a strong move under the basket against Jackson, and Wallace believed that Artest's action was not a basketball move, so he directly pushed him away! A conflict erupted between the two sides. After the referee's mediation, both sides had calmed down, and Artest lay on the technical table waiting for the final punishment result. However, at this moment, a Pistons fan acted irrationally and threw a drink at Artest, who immediately jumped into the stands and attacked the fan with fists and feet, with Jackson also joining the fight! Subsequently, both sides' players and players with fans broke out into a large-scale conflict, forcing the game to be terminated. After the incident, Artest was directly suspended for 73 games and his salary was withheld; Jackson was suspended for 30 games, Jermaine O'Neal for 15 games, and Ben Wallace for 6 games. A total of 146 games were suspended, and 10 million dollars in salary were confiscated!
The "Madison Square Garden Brawl":
Another incident was a game between the Knicks and the Nuggets in 2006. By then, the outcome of the game had already been decided, and the Nuggets had a 19-point lead with only 75 seconds left in the game. However, the Nuggets' coach did not replace the main players such as Anthony, Jia, and Nene. This behavior angered the Knicks' players, and JR chose to fast-break and dunk when the outcome was already determined, only to be pulled down by Collins and fall heavily to the ground. A large-scale conflict erupted between the two sides, with JR directly picking up Nate Robinson and throwing him into the stands. At this point, things seemed to have come to an end, but Anthony came over and punched Collins in the face, and then ran away after hitting someone! How could Collins let him leave easily? He went into a frenzy mode, but fortunately, the staff took Anthony to a safe area. Finally, after the coaches, referees, and on-site staff controlled the situation, the conflict was completely calmed down. The referees on site carefully discussed and decided to eject six Knicks players and four Nuggets players involved in the incident. A total of 47 suspensions were issued in this game, resulting in a loss of nearly 1.2 million dollars in salaries.
These two conflicts are considered the most famous in NBA history, with both sides engaging in large-scale confrontations and the league imposing severe penalties! Recently, there have been two more large-scale conflicts in two games. On December 28th, in the game between the Suns and the Mavericks, a major conflict erupted in the third quarter. Nurkic collided with Gafford during an offensive play, and Marshall stood up for his teammate, seeking revenge on Nurkic. Subsequently, Nurkic and Marshall engaged in a fistfight, with Nurkic slapping Marshall's head, and Marshall retaliating with a punch. Washington joined in and pushed Nurkic to the ground, with both sides fighting on the court in a mess. Fortunately, the referees intervened in time, and the other players from both sides came over to separate them. Ultimately, the referees ejected these three players from the game, and the league imposed an eight-game suspension on them!
In today's game between the Rockets and the Heat, in the final moments, Aminu Thompson was provoked by Herro, and the former directly body-slammed the latter to the ground, leading to a large-scale conflict! The cause of this incident was that the Rockets were overturned at the last moment, with VanVleet committing a five-second violation on the inbound pass and being ejected for a technical foul. The young Rockets players were provoked by the experienced Herro with words, eventually escalating into a conflict! In the end, six people were ejected from the game, and the league's specific punishment should be announced tomorrow! In just three days, there have been two major conflicts with a total of nine people ejected and eight-game suspensions issued! Is the old NBA back?
Players easily bursting into conflicts on the court is a reflection of the increased intensity of the game. Nowadays, the NBA league is plagued by excessive fouls for minor infractions, and the viewership continues to decline. The NBA needs to return to passionate basketball. This is beneficial for both the NBA league and the fans. Fans hope to see more intense competition, and this process will inevitably be accompanied by an increase in on-court conflicts! So, finally, here comes the question: Do you want to see more intense competition? Will more intense games improve the NBA's viewership? Welcome to discuss!