The Top NBA Beefs of the 21st Century
As 2018 winds down to a close, Andrew Golden takes a look back at Barnes-Fisher, the Malice at the Palace, and the other best beefs of the last 18 years of The Association
The NBA Season is in full swing as Christmas Day rapidly approaches, so we here at UNPLUGG’D decided to cover the most important storyline in professional basketball: beefs. Andrew Golden takes a look back at the best rivalries, brawls, and remarriages in the last 18 years of The Association.
Honorable Mentions
CP3 vs. Rondo/Ingram
To spit or not to spit, that is the question. I’m not sure if Rondo actually did spit, but it’s too soon to tell if this will turn into a real beef or not. Rondo has a history of getting under people’s skin, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear more about this in the future.
KG/Pierce vs. Allen
It was a fairytale ending for the Celtics’ Big Three…until it wasn’t. After a lot of successful seasons and a championship in Boston, Allen left the Celtics for the Heat, their rival at the time. It was like dating a best friend’s ex, leaving a sour taste in your mouth.
LeBron vs. Delonte West
I don’t really know if this is “bro code” or just weird. In all honesty, this should’ve been a bigger beef than it actually was. How can you let one of your teammates mess around with your mom while you guys are playing together?
KD vs. Russ
This was by far the saddest beef of any of the arguments from this century. KD and Russ seemed like best friends until KD left him for the Warriors. It definitely wasn’t as funny as some of the other beefs, but the two former teammates had some great battles in 2017, KD’s first year with Golden State.
Grade A+ Beef: Ron Artest vs. Ben Wallace, the Pistons and the whole city of Detroit
In June of 2004, the Detroit Pistons won their first championship since the “Bad Boys” era. Fortunately for me, my cousins, who lived in Detroit, decided to send me a championship shirt to celebrate. That shirt, along with Ben Wallace’s hair, was enough to convince me that the Pistons were my new favorite team and Ben Wallace was my new favorite player. And almost 5 months later, my favorite team was involved in one of the most bizarre incidents in NBA history.
With less than a minute left in the game, the Pacers had essentially wrapped it up, leading the game by a score of 97–82. While most people thought the entertainment was about to end, Ron Artest and Ben Wallace were just getting started. Any Pistons fans who had popcorn weren’t just eating it that night, they were throwing it, too. After a hard foul, Wallace shoved Artest, which led to both teams getting into a scuffle. For those of you who haven’t seen the video, a fan throws a bottle at Artest, who proceeded to run up into the stands and punch him. Players from both teams and fans fought in the stands — punches were thrown, popcorn and beer were tossed at the Pacers’ players — before the fight was finally broken up.
What makes an event like this one a major beef isn’t just how crazy it was, but the lasting legacy it leaves. Ron Artest was suspended for 86 games, the longest suspension in NBA history. He was one of nine players who was suspended; those players all paid fines that totaled around $11 million.
As for the impact that it had on me? Well, my Pistons’ fandom ended that night. I couldn’t have my reputation ruined by a dirty team that ruined my crystal, clean image. I still always have a love deep down in my heart for that 2004 Pistons team, and despite the fact that I disowned the 2005 team, this has to be the greatest beef in NBA history. I don’t think the Pistons and Pacers have any bad blood anymore, but it was fun while it lasted.
Taco Bell Beef: Amar’e Stoudemire and a Fire Extinguisher
Once my love for the Pistons died down, I looked for a new team for a long time before finally settling on the New York Knicks. My new love for the Knicks started for multiple reasons — the disappointment of my then-favorite team, the Atlanta Hawks, getting drafted by the Knicks on NBA 2K11 and Amar’e Stoudemire. I had always loved the way Stoudemire played, and with the addition of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks were finally on the come-up. But the results weren’t as good as the hype and nothing summed that up better than in the 2011–2012 playoffs.
After a disappointing season that placed them 7th in the division, the Knicks had a first round matchup against the Miami Heat. The Knicks lost the first two games of the series and Stoudemire wasn’t happy about it. While most basketball players would choose to take their anger out on the rim, Stoudemire started beef in the locker room. You’d assume with a person, but instead, in his mind, he decided that the best route would be to punch a fire extinguisher. And somehow, as only a Knicks player could do, he lost to the fire extinguisher?
Stoudemire suffered lacerations to his hand for punching the glass and wound up missing Game 3 of the series.
As a Knicks fan, this should’ve been a sign of things to come. But instead of looking far into the future, I saw Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and J.R. Smith leading us to a championship. The Knicks have been a bottom-feeder in the Eastern Conference for the past four years and the only bright spot on the team probably won’t play until 2019. As for Amar’e Stoudemire and his beef, let’s just hope that there aren’t any fire extinguishers in Hapoel Jerusalem’s locker room.
Grade D+ Beef: Rockets vs. Clippers
If you hear a tree fall in the forest, but no one saw it, did it really happen?
Or, better yet, if two NBA teams fight in private after a game, is it really beef?
Earlier this year, Chris Paul led the Houston Rockets to face his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers. After the Clippers pulled off the upset, the Rockets prepared to pull off the Malice at the Palace II. Except this time, it was behind closed doors and didn’t involve any fans.
After a skirmish towards the end of the game, players were ejected from the game. That was the perfect set-up for Ron Artest to hop out of the stands and punch Chris Paul. Unfortunately, instead of the fight happening before our eyes, the game ended and both teams headed to the locker rooms. It was reported that Trevor Ariza, James Harden and Chris Paul went through a secret tunnel in Staples Center into the Clippers’ locker room. Once they got to the locker room, security guards held Chris Paul and the rest of his teammates back as they yelled back and forth at each other.
This sounds like a great beef, so why is it such a bad ranking? Well, for one, the drama wasn’t what we thought it was. What sounded like a mastermind plan by Chris Paul wasn’t the reality. Chris Paul didn’t go through a secret entrance — it was a hallway. There was a rumor that Clint Capela was used as a distraction at the front entrance so that Chris and Co. could enter through the back, but Capela didn’t even come close to the locker room. Paul and Harden weren’t even the stars of the beef; they were the mediators, while Ariza and Gerald Green started the real altercation.
The saddest part about the beef is that the Clippers core from the beef isn’t there anymore. Austin Rivers (TBD) and Trevor Ariza (Wizards) were just traded for each other and are no longer on their previous teams. Paul’s former teammates, Blake Griffin (Pistons) and DeAndre Jordan (Mavericks), are also on different teams. There was a beef, but it was short-lived…and wasn’t as big of a deal as we thought.
Grade B Beef: Derek Fisher vs. Matt Barnes
Derek Fisher and Matt Barnes clearly have two different opinions on how “bro-code” works. Matt Barnes was married to Gloria Govan for four years before the two decided to get a divorce in 2015. Although the two had decided to get a divorce, it wasn’t made official until 2016.
That didn’t stop Govan from dating Fisher, who was Barnes’ former teammate. Govan and Fisher definitely seemed on the same page, but Barnes didn’t seem to feel the same way. When Barnes’ sons called and told him Fisher was at their house, Barnes drove to Fisher’s house to confront him and it led to a physical altercation between the two. Reports had it that Barnes drove 95 miles to fight Fisher, but it turns out it was just a 15 minute drive. It’s still a great story, but it would’ve been the stuff of NBA beef legend if he had driven 95 miles just for Fisher.
The two have seemed to settle their beef recently, as Barnes congratulated Fisher and Govan on their recent engagement. Govan and Barnes still have some beef to settle themselves when it comes to the custody of the children. What makes this such quality beef is the fact that two grown men who are known for their talent on the basketball court had a fight about something that had nothing to do with basketball.
Grade C Beef: “Woj-Bomb” vs. “Sham-Wow”
Adrian Wojnarowski joined Yahoo! Sports in 2007 and quickly established himself as the premier, go-to NBA insider when it came to breaking news on trades and NBA Draft coverage. In 2017, he took his talent to Los Angeles, (sounds a lot cooler than Bristol, Connecticut) to join ESPN and continue his dominance with NBA sports news. But now, he has a rival: Shams Charania.
Charania joined Yahoo Sports while Woj was still working there and quickly rose up in the ranks. Once Woj left for ESPN, Charania became Yahoo’s number one guy and has become Woj’s only competition. He was the first to report the resignings of Steph Curry, Blake Griffin and others.
So is this a beef? Absolutely. For journalists like me, this is high-level entertainment. In case you don’t understand how big of a deal this is, imagine you’re Joe Montana and it’s 1994. Steve Young just won his first championship and you’re realizing that your protege is better than you on your old team. Too young for Montana-Young? How about Favre-Rodgers? Woj has to feel like Favre felt when he was booted out by the Packers for Rodgers. Although Woj wasn’t actually booted out like the QBs, there has been an interesting passing of the torch.
Despite all the hype and media attention that we try to make out of it as fans, it’s not going to become a big deal. Woj has continued to be successful at ESPN and Shams accepted a job at The Athletic. Obviously, it’s a friendly rivalry that will continue to exist for a long time and unless Woj suddenly stops talking to Shams and the whole Yahoo! Sports organization (sorry, Brett), this is just some average, local-store-bought beef.
Andrew Golden is (unfortunately) a Baltimore Ravens fan and overall sports enthusiast. You can check out some of his work here and follow him on Twitter here.
