The List: Five most memorable NBA fights

2010-01-04T16:09:36-05:00

2008-11-14T13:28:49-05:00

2008-11-14T13:35:32-05:00

2009-01-22T08:51:56-05:00

dlamarr

Milwaukee 681223

54 Clearly the most infamous fight in NBA history was the brawl. But the best one man fight was Willis Reed v Rudy Larusso and the entire LA laker team in 1967-68. I saw that fight as a kid on tv, then the NY Daily News had a full size picture of Reed delivering the haymaker to Rudy's jaw, covering the entire back page! I've visited the NYC central library several times trying to find that clip over the years, but with youtube nowadays, i'm certain someone will put that fight on a video, and this question will be permanently resolved. 4070214

2009-01-22T08:48:33-05:00

dlamarr

Milwaukee 681223

53 Clearly the most infamous fight in NBA history was the brawl. But the best one man fight was Willis Reed v Rudy Larusso and the entire LA laker team in 1967-68. I saw that fight as a kid on tv, then the NY Daily News had a full size picture of Reed delivering the haymaker to Rudy's jaw, covering the entire back page! I've visited the NYC central library several times trying to find that clip over the years, but with youtube nowadays, i'm certain someone will put that fight on a video, and this question will be permanently resolved. 4070131

2008-11-17T14:16:06-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/609/429/thumb/tmac1.jpg 2 XX

an-d

No City 610070

52 how about the fight between the knicks-suns game?? it happened near halftime where the suns "kj" kevin johnson knocked out doc rivers of the knicks!! and in return doc rivers chased kj from the court all the way to their dug out i think.. 3361244

2008-11-17T14:12:27-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/609/429/thumb/tmac1.jpg 2 XX

an-d

No City 610070

51 how about the game between the knicks and suns?? it happened near halftime where "kj" kevin johnson of the suns knocked out doc rivers to the floor and in return doc rivers chased kj from the court all the way to the dug out i think... 3361137

2008-11-14T14:22:21-05:00

knickfanforevah

Brooklyn 608120

you mean the third entry on the list?

10 No the 3rd entry on the list was the heat against the Knicks 3340978

2008-11-17T01:28:40-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/351/535/thumb/tick.jpg 3 OK

fosterlb

Tahlequah 351956

No the 3rd entry on the list was the heat against the Knicks

50 What!?!? Look up just a few inches.....the 3rd entry clearly says "Rockets vs. Lakers." Stop smoking hooch. 3355787

2008-11-16T10:37:41-05:00

duce83

Miami 609349

49 when shaquille o'neal was playing with orlando he ran up into alvin robertson's face who i believe was then playing for milwakee, detriot, or toronto at the time. he started his career with the spurs. anyway alvin was able to put o'neal on his back! pretty good for a guy 6'3 185lbs at the time. 3351843

2008-11-16T09:32:40-05:00

duce83

Miami 609349

48 maurice lucas and darell dawkins had a brawl during dawkins rookie season 1977 or 78 3351611

2008-11-15T14:15:24-05:00

Squire AP

Audubon 405920

47 Either 66-67 or 67-68 between Luke Jackson of the 76'ers and Walt Hazzard on the Lakers. Jackson had set a pick and Hazzard ran into it with his elbow way up. Ref called a foul but Jackson took offense and windmilled on Hazzard's head until pulled of by his coach, Alex Hannum. The best part is that even after getting thrown out, Jackson yelled at the Ref and demanded his foul shot, which he got. 3347900

2008-11-15T12:48:30-05:00

EdnaF

Cincinnati 571186

46 Jungle Jim Loscotoff versus anybody. He used to clean house for the Celtics on a nightly basis back in the late 50's and early 60's. 3347315

2008-11-15T11:32:43-05:00

bigboysteeler

Omaha 592539

45 What about Lonnie Shelton and I think Buck Williams fighting on the court, up in the stands and then back on the court in 82 or 83. CLASSIC!!!!!! 3346997

<div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img title="Donovan McNabb" src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/artest.jpg" alt="Artest" width="298" height="338" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">The Pistons-Pacers fight is one of history's most infamous.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">ESPN </div> </div> Brawls in the NBA don't happen very often, but when they do, they're usually memorable. Wednesday night's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkG0QUAHtD4" target="_blank">Suns-Rockets skirmish</a> was no exception. It started with Matt Barnes and Rafer Alston squaring off, but soon Tracy McGrady was throwing Steve Nash to the ground, Yao Ming was sprawled out on top of McGrady and, with a few shoves, Shaquille O'Neal reminded us he's still the most dominant force in pro sports. Was this the most memorable fight in NBA history? Not even close, but here are the five spats that made our list... 1. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUJAhXXQenw" target="_blank">Pistons vs. Pacers</a>, Nov. 19, 2004: The most infamous brawl in American sports history began on the court when Ben Wallace went after Ron Artest late in the fourth quarter, but soon spilled into the stands after a fan threw a beer at  Artest. Nine players were suspended for a total of 146 games, five players were charged with assault and the NBA had its biggest P.R. nightmare in league history (at least until Tim Donaghy came along). 2. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY2xmwqyJbg" target="_blank">Celtics vs. Pistons</a>, May 24, 1987: By 1987, just about everyone in the free world who didn't live in Detroit hated Bill Laimbeer. Larry Bird was no exception, so when the Pistons center threw him down while Bird was attempting a layup during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics Hall of Famer did what came naturally to him: He slugged Laimbeer, leading to this famous brawl. Don't miss the end, when Bird does his best Nolan Ryan imitation and chucks the basketball at Laimbeer's head from 20 feet away. 3. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgqUZ1IAA_8" target="_blank">Rockets vs. Lakers</a>, Dec. 9, 1977: This fight can best be described in two words -- The Punch -- referring to Kermit Washington's violent decking of Rudy Tomjonavich during a skirmish between the two teams. The Rockets forward suffered severe fractures of the face and skull and was hospitalized for weeks while Washington received a 26-game suspension, the longest in NBA history. 4. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bXoa0y7zNk" target="_blank">Shock vs. Sparks</a>, July 22, 2008: We know, we know. How can you include a WNBA fight in this list? Well, the list is most memorable brawls and this certainly fits that description. It featured the league's top player, Candace Parker, getting down and dirty while Bill Laimbeer acts as peacemaker. The best part was Detroit assistant Rick Mahorn, who tried to break it up, but ended up throwing Lisa Leslie to the ground. 5. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmMnKm0fCls" target="_blank">Celtics vs. Rockets</a>, June 5, 1986: This fight may be the mismatch of the century -- pairing Ralph Sampson (7-foor-4) against Jerry Sichting (6-foot-1) -- but the Celtics guard held his own. What is most impressive about this battle is that it occurred during Game 5 of the NBA Finals. So much for restraint during the biggest game of the year. Honorable Mention: The Alonzo Mourning-Larry Johnson fight, which featured 150-pound Jeff Van Gundy holding feebly onto Mourning's leg, should make any list -- but we couldn't dig up a video, honorable mention will have to suffice. Which famous basketbrawls did we forget? Let us know below... http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/400/3/thumb/gray_andy.jpg 11 NY

Andy Gray

New York 4023 23423 <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img title="Donovan McNabb" src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/artest.jpg" alt="Artest" width="298" height="338" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">The Pistons-Pacers fight is one of history's most infamous.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">ESPN </div> </div> Brawls in the NBA don't happen very often, but when they do, they're usually memorable. Wednesday night's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkG0QUAHtD4" target="_blank">Suns-Rockets skirmish</a> was no exception. It started with Matt Barnes and Rafer Alston squaring off, but soon Tracy McGrady was throwing Steve Nash to the ground, Yao Ming was sprawled out on top of McGrady and, with a few shoves, Shaquille O'Neal reminded us he's still the most dominant force in pro sports. Was this the most memorable fight in NBA history? Not even close, but here are the five spats that made our list... 1. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUJAhXXQenw" target="_blank">Pistons vs. Pacers</a>, Nov. 19, 2004: The most infamous brawl in American sports history began on the court when Ben Wallace went after Ron Artest late in the fourth quarter, but soon spilled into the stands after a fan threw a beer at  Artest. Nine players were suspended for a total of 146 games, five players were charged with assault and the NBA had its biggest P.R. nightmare in league history (at least until Tim Donaghy came along). 2. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY2xmwqyJbg" target="_blank">Celtics vs. Pistons</a>, May 24, 1987: By 1987, just about everyone in the free world who didn't live in Detroit hated Bill Laimbeer. Larry Bird was no exception, so when the Pistons center threw him down while Bird was attempting a layup during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics Hall of Famer did what came naturally to him: He slugged Laimbeer, leading to this famous brawl. Don't miss the end, when Bird does his best Nolan Ryan imitation and chucks the basketball at Laimbeer's head from 20 feet away.