Given his background, it was surprising that Isaiah Stewart took so long to intervene in the brawl between the Hornets and the Pistons. He was caught on the bench and held back in the early stages. Then, with the unstoppable force provided by his 2.03 meters and 113 kilos, he stormed onto the court as if it were a stampede. His target was Miles Bridges, with whom he started a fist fight. It took eight members of the Detroit franchise to stop him.
Both were ejected, as were Moussa Diabate (Hornets) and Jalen Duren (Pistons). For Stewart, it was not a novelty to head for the locker room tunnel early. Because of his behavior and toughness, he would fit well in late 1980s basketball and, specifically, in those Detroit ‘Bad Boys’ who terrorized the NBA. In six NBA seasons (355 games), the power forward has nine ejections, 12 flagrant fouls and 52 technicals.
Among his victims are Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom he took to the ground by grabbing him by the jersey when he was about to dunk; LeBron James, who, in the fight for a rebound, elbowed him in the face and bloodied his face and unleashed his anger; Noah Clowney was elbowed in the throat which left him breathless for a few moments; Naz Reid wanted to strangle him; Thomas Bryant was sent to the floor with a push…
He missed a game because he was in jail
The altercations have not been limited to games. In February 2024, Stewart punched Drew Eubanks in the parking lot of Phoenix’s Footprint Center hours before the Pistons played there. According to police, the two players argued before Stewart punched him. They had to be separated by arena security and he was arrested, missing the game. The charges were later dropped.
The power forward, who grew up playing boxing and American football, has spent his entire career with the Pistons where he arrived in November 2020 after being drafted by the Blazers (16th overall) and briefly with the Rockets, with whom he did not play. Since his NBA debut, he has earned a reputation as a tough guy, although he has often crossed the line. He is approaching 10 games of suspension for actions that endangered the integrity of his opponents or for participating in fights. After this latest incident, that figure will increase.
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