Top 20 Craziest NBA Fights

Top 20 Craziest NBA Fights

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Craziest NBA Fights.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most insane brawls to ever take place during NBA games. Some of these fights got so out of hand that they even led to rule changes throughout the league and its arenas.

What’s the craziest fight your favorite basketball team has ever been involved in? Be sure to share the scrap with us in the comments below.

#20: Kurt Rambis vs. Kevin McHale (1984)

The Lakers and Celtics have one of the most intense historic rivalries in the game, and their matchup in the 1984 Finals brought out quite a bit of fire. During Game 4 of the series, Kurt Rambis went for, what looked like, an easy layup off a fast break, but Celtics forward Kevin McHale put a stop to that with a brutal clothesline. Rambis was not happy to say the least and began to move towards McHale but teammate James Worthy pushed him aside. Somehow, McHale only received a foul on the play, and the incident turned the tide in the Celtics’ favor. Boston wound up winning the game in overtime and went on to win the series.

#19: Chris Paul vs. Rajon Rondo (2018)

Even veterans get scrappy sometimes, and apparently the bad feelings between these two had been brewing for several years. Their beef allegedly started back in 2008 when Paul edged out Rondo for a spot on the USA Olympics team. The two got mouthy with each other a few times after that, but everything came to a head during this game between the Lakers and the Rockets. It all started when James Harden ran into Brandon Ingram, who pushed him in return. As the two teams stood together, Paul and Rondo started going at it verbally before getting physical. Thankfully, LeBron James pulled Paul from the scuffle before things got too ugly, but Ingram, Rondo and Paul were all suspended for multiple games for the incident.

#18: Larry Bird vs. Bill Laimbeer (1987)

These two players allegedly hated each other, and that animosity bubbled over during Game 3 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons led the game 97 to 81 but were behind in the series, and their desperation resulted in some very physical plays. As Bird attempted to take a shot at the basket, Laimbeer took a shot at Bird, body slamming him to the ground. Naturally, they fought, and their teammates joined in. When they were finally upright and apart, Bird took the opportunity to throw the ball at Laimbeer. Both players were ejected, Bird was fined $2,000, and Laimbeer was fined $5,000.

#17: Kobe Bryant vs. Chris Childs (2000)

The Black Mamba was one of the greatest players to ever pick up a ball, and he was one of the greatest trash-talkers as well. During this game between the Lakers and the Knicks, Bryant and Childs got a bit too close for comfort off the ball. After exchanging some not-so-nice words, Childs shoved Bryant, and a brawl broke out. Players from both teams, including Shaq and Patrick Ewing, got involved before Bryant and Childs could be separated. Bryant was so heated that it took two officials to pull him away. When all was said and done, Childs was suspended for two games and fined $15,000, while Bryant was suspended for one game and fined $5,000.

#16: Celtics vs. Rockets (1986)

When players make it to the NBA Finals, their emotions naturally run rampant, and the 1986 series was certainly no exception. During Game 5 between Boston and Houston, 6’1” Celtics player Jerry Sichting guarded 7’4” Rockets center Ralph Sampson under the basket. Sampson took exception to this and threw a punch at Sichting and other Celtics players quickly took Sampson to the ground. The benches emptied as both teams came together, and police quickly intervened to break up the fight. Sampson was ejected due to the scuffle, but the brawl seemed to energize his fellow Rockets, and they won the game 111 to 96.

#15: Bradley Beal vs. Draymond Green (2017)

Maybe Beal took Green’s Defensive Player of the Year crown as a challenge. As the first half of this game wound down, the two were moving for a rebound when they got into each others’ space. Beal wrapped his arm around Green’, and the entanglement escalated. The two collapsed to the floor, and their teammates ran to the scene, some getting a little too physical in the process. Once everyone dispersed, Green emerged from the fracas with a magnificently torn jersey. As if that weren’t bad enough, Green was ejected and slapped with a $25,000 fine. Beal was, of course, also ejected and had to pay a $50,000 fine.

#14: Robert Parish vs. Bill Laimbeer (1987)

Laimbeer’s reputation as an instigator was well-known throughout the league, and his antics were enough to rile up the mild-mannered Celtics center Robert Parish. With the first half winding down, Parish, who practiced martial arts, landed some punches on Laimbeer, knocking him to the ground. Funnily enough, Parish didn’t even get a foul called on him, making some wonder if even the referees had problems with Laimbeer. As for Parish, he went on to set the record for most NBA games played, which still stands to this day.

#13: Heat vs. Knicks (1997)

These Eastern Conference rivals had plenty of animosity built up between their squads. During Game 5 of the 1997 Semifinals, Charlie Ward and P.J. Brown fought for positioning during a free throw and then fought each other, with Brown throwing Ward into a row of reporters. Several players rushed to back up their teammates, including people from the bench. The incident led to the most severe penalties in playoffs history at the time. Five Knicks players, including Ward, were suspended for Game 6 of the series. Brown, who was awarded a Citizenship Award earlier that season, was suspended for two games. All six players also received fines, with John Starks receiving an additional fine for making an obscene gesture at the crowd.

#12: Tree Rollins vs. Danny Ainge (1983)

Wait, we said craziest fights, not craziest bites. Regardless, both words apply to this nasty incident. During this playoff game between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks, Ainge trash-talked the 7’1” Rollins. Eventually, Rollins threw out his elbow to Ainge, and Ainge retaliated by tackling the Hawk to the ground. There was a pileup of players from both teams, and in the confusion, Ainge nearly poked out Rollins’ eye. Rollins responded like any bird of prey would and bit Ainge, which resulted in the Celtic needing stitches and a tetanus shot. Rollins was fined $5,000 and suspended for five games of the next season, while Ainge was fined $1,000 plus $250 for being ejected. Ainge apparently still has the scar to this day.

#11: Lakers vs. Rockets (1977)

During this game, Kevin Kunnert, Kermit Washington and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got involved in a scuffle, causing Rudy Tomjanovich to approach them and try to break up the fight. Not knowing his intentions, Washington punched Tomjanovich, fracturing his face. As Tomjanovich collapsed unconscious to the ground, the arena went silent. Tomjanovich suffered from a broken jaw and nose and a cerebral concussion. Due to his injuries, Tomjanovich missed the rest of the season. Washington was fined $10,000, suspended for a then-record 60 days and became a much less aggressive player. This incident led to stricter rules regarding fights, and the league added a third referee to games in an attempt to prevent further serious altercations.

#10: Darryl Dawkins vs. Maurice Lucas

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.

#9: Michael Jordan vs. Reggie Miller

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.

#8: Larry Bird vs. Dr. J

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.

#7: Marcus Camby vs. Danny Ferry

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.

#6: Alonzo Mourning vs. Larry Johnson

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, “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.

#5: Charles Barkley vs. Shaquille O'Neal

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.

#4: Suns vs. Knicks

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.

#3: Bulls vs. Knicks

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.

#2: Knicks vs. Nuggets

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.

#1: Pistons vs. Pacers vs. Fans (AKA “The Malice at the Palace”)

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.