Robin Lopez and Serge Ibaka got into a fight on Tuesday night that was unlike most NBA fights in that actual punches were thrown and almost landed. NBA fights typically involve shoving, talking, and an awful lot of “hold me back” action. That’s probably for the best, because we don’t want these extraordinarily large men actually connecting with punches.
I think sometimes we forget that these are gigantic men and if they ever put their full force behind a punch and landed it clean they would do serious damage. I mean, Shaq almost decapitated Brad Miller once.
Luckily, most basketball players are awful fighters, with absolutely no ability to land a punch cleanly if they even throw one. However, that doesn’t stop scuffles from happening all the time, so we are here to rank the five best fights we’ve seen this season.
5. Taurean Prince vs. Hassan Whiteside/James Johnson
This fight earns a spot on the list because of how violent the act was to start the scuffle. Hawks rookie Taurean Prince slammed Hassan Whiteside on his back, causing Whiteside to stay down in pain for quite some time, while James Johnson (who has found himself in the middle of a few scraps this season) ran over to defend his guy. The refs got this separated pretty quickly, but Johnson came over very quickly and was about that action. It’s important to note that James Johnson has a black belt and would likely win any fight against anyone currently in the league.
4. Thon Maker vs. Richard Jefferson
The best wrasslin’ we’ve seen this season comes courtesy of Bucks rookie Thon Maker and Cavs vet Richard Jefferson. These two both managed to somehow hip toss each other in succession to start a little scrap late in a blowout. My favorite part of the entire thing is the Cavs announcers originally blaming Maker and then realizing Jefferson was just as much at fault for starting this mess.
3. Jordan Clarkson vs. Goran Dragic
A very good shoving match between Clarkson and Dragic that ended when Clarkson pushed Dragic up around the head, sending him to the ground. Dragic pops up to charge at Clarkson who very quickly assumed a fighting stance. You can always tell very quickly who is really about that life by what stance they get in as someone’s coming at them, and Clarkson got those fists up real fast as others stepped in between.
2. Nick Young/Brandon Ingram vs. Malcom Brogdon/Greg Monroe
The Lakers haven’t done much winning this year, but they sure do find themselves in a lot of scraps. This was the leader in the clubhouse after Young pushed Brogdon and then got shoved to the ground by Monroe. This wasn’t just a good fight: it also sparked a legendary post-game presser from Luke Walton and led Draymond Green to get mad just watching from home.
1. Robin Lopez vs. Serge Ibaka
Look, if you get real, actual punches thrown in 2017, it’s going to be the best fight. That’s just the way it goes. The part that entertains me the most is that people are actively trying to break this fight up and RoLo and Serge – because they’re both so tall – can just throw hands at each other over everyone else. This will result in suspensions and fines, and the best part is DeMar DeRozan dragging his teammate to the ground in an effort to break it up. Also, Robin Lopez’s brother, Brook, is on Ibaka’s side.
Honorable Mention: Marcus Smart
I just want to take a moment to shoutout Marcus Smart, because he’s tried to fight John Wall and LeBron James this year. He goes big game hunting when it comes to scraps, and I respect that.
Source: DIME on UProxx