1) George Dempsey (Nationals) v Bill Russell (Celtics), 1959

It’s difficult to say when the original on-court brawl in NBA history occurred but this fight is arguably the first truly notable one. It was actually just the first of several tussles in this game, one of which involved the Hall of Fame referee Sid Borgia throwing a punch. When pugnacious point guard Dempsey committed a hard foul on Russell, the Celtics legend made a rare move of retaliating, punching his opponent, leading to both benches clearing and tempers flaring. Then, as the game was winding down, All-Stars Tom Heinsohn and Dolph Schayes began duking it out on the court and this time not just players got involved, but also coaches, the crowd, and Borgia, who slugged a Nationals fan in the fray. Perhaps all this battling was only natural, as the game took place in Syracuse’s Onondaga War Memorial Arena (“Gentlemen! You can’t fight in here! This is a War Arena!”). Syracuse won this game 113-105 but the Celtics easily cruised to the NBA title just a couple months later.

2) Wilt Chamberlain (Warriors) v Sam Jones (Celtics), 1962

Familiarity would often breed contempt in the early days of the NBA, when only a handful of franchises existed and played each other regularly. Celtics-Warriors was the pre-eminent example in the early ’60s, sparked by the rivalry between Chamberlain and Bill Russell. This particular match-up, game five of the Eastern Conference Finals, was the 17th meeting between Philly and Boston in the ’61-’62 season. Details of the incident in question are sketchy due to the lack of video evidence but we know this much: at some point in the early fourth quarter of a Celtics blowout, Jones and Chamberlain engaged with each other under the hoop. Spooked by potential escalation with the much larger Warriors center, Jones ran to the sidelines and grabbed a stool out from under a photographer, brandishing it in self defense like a lion tamer. Amusingly, that same stool would be wielded as a defensive implement again later in the same game, this time by Philadelphia’s Guy Rodgers during a subsequent fight with Boston’s Jim Loscutoff (and several Celtics fans who stormed the court). Boston won the game to take a 3-2 series lead, then finished it off at home in game seven en route to the fifth title of the Russell era.

3) Wilt Chamberlain (Warriors) v Clyde Lovellette (Celtics), 1964

Seemingly always conscious of his size and potential physical impact on smaller players, the 7’1″ Chamberlain had a reputation as a “gentle giant” on the court. But he could turn nasty from time to time, most notably in this confrontation with Lovellette during game two of the 1964 NBA Finals. Kind of the Bill Laimbeer of his day, Lovellette was an All-Star caliber player who could also play a dual role as an enforcer and thorn in the side of high-scoring centers like Chamberlain. After star turns with the Lakers and Hawks, he was finishing out his career collecting back-to-back titles as Bill Russell’s backup center but could still be a menace at age 34. Lovellette came on for Russell in garbage time of this Celtics blowout win and while fighting for a rebound, landed an elbow to the mouth of Chamberlain, who responded with one punch to the face that immediately floored his fellow former Kansas All-American. Chamberlain would later recall that seeing Lovellette lay prone on the floor with no indication that he was ever getting back up (he eventually did) scared him straight into never fighting on the court again.

4) Rudy LaRusso (Lakers) v Willis Reed (Knicks), 1966

For decades, the legend of Reed fighting the entire Lakers roster was only recounted through the written word and oral storytelling. ESPN somehow eventually dug up the video footage and included it the 2014 documentary When the Garden Was Eden. It happened in the home opener of New York’s ’66-’67 season, against a Lakers team coming off a tough NBA Finals loss to the Celtics and missing Jerry West due to a leg injury. During the third quarter, Reed and LaRusso were jockeying for position on a free throw when it quickly came to blows and spilled over onto the Los Angeles bench. Not content just to get some shots in on LaRusso, Reed started swinging wildly at every Laker within arm’s length, ultimately bloodying the eye of Darrall Imhoff (who needed stitches) and fracturing John Block’s nose. Reed and LaRusso were both ejected for their actions and levied a fine. 

5) Rick Barry (Warriors) v Leonard Gray (SuperSonics), 1975

One of the most ornery players ever to step onto an NBA court, Barry was regularly engaging in scuffles with opponents. This is the most significant of those fights, as it not only took place during a crucial playoff game but also ended in a near full scale riot at the Seattle Center Coliseum. His opponent in this one was Gray, a 6’8″, 240 pound Sonics enforcer who was agitated by the hard fouls being committed by the Warriors throughout this playoff series. He instinctively chose Barry as an object of retaliation, supposedly kicking the Golden State superstar in the groin and following that up with a punch to the nose for good measure. Gray was immediately ejected and irate fans reacted by tossing debris onto the court. When the Warriors subsequently held on to win the game and close out the series, things escalated even further, with much of the Sonics faithful storming the court to confront the fleeing Golden State personnel. On his way to the locker room, Barry was reportedly smacked with a purse by a disgruntled Sonics fan. Police eventually got the situation under control and the Warriors exited the arena relatively unscathed. A month later, they were champions, defeating the Bullets in an NBA Finals upset.

6) Richie Powers (referee) v a Celtics fan, 1976

Even as we approach its 50th anniversary, game five of the 1976 NBA Finals is still widely considered the pinnacle of NBA action. It included a little bit of everything: superstar performances, unsung heroes, buzzer beaters, overtimes, exploitation of rules loopholes, and, of course, some controversy. When John Havlicek nailed a game winning buzzer beater at the end of the second overtime, Celtics fans stormed the court in what turned out to be premature jubilation. Powers was the head official and realized immediately that the clock didn’t properly stop after Havlicek drained his jumper. After a brief discussion with the other refs, Powers restored one second on the clock. This enraged most of the Boston Garden attendees, one of which opted to attack Powers upon hearing the news. With the assistance of a couple Suns players and a police officer, Powers tackled the Celtics fan to the ground and avoided serious injury. When order was finally restored, Powers officiated the remainder of the game, which Boston wound up winning anyway in triple overtime.

7) Calvin Murphy (Rockets) v Sidney Wicks (Celtics), 1976

Despite (or maybe due to) the fact that he was one of the shortest players in NBA history, Murphy was also one of the most belligerent. His most infamous incident came early in the ’76-’77 season, when the Rockets were taking on the Celtics. Squaring off against Wicks, a man who was literally one foot taller (standing 6’8″ to Murphy’s 5’9″ stature) and 60 pounds heavier than him, Murphy got strategic. He leaped into the air, pulled Wicks down by his afro, and began pummeling him in the face as Rockets fans went wild. While it was widely known that Murphy had been a world-class baton twirler in his youth, what Wicks and numerous other on-court sparring partners probably didn’t realize until it was too late is that Murphy was also a Golden Gloves boxer as a teenager. The clip of this fight became a scoreboard video staple at Rockets games for years, much to the delight of fans and the consternation of opponents.

8) Charles Dudley (Warriors) v Eric Money (Pistons), 1977
9) Darryl Dawkins (76ers) v Maurice Lucas (Trail Blazers), 1977

The late ’70s truly were the pinnacle of ugly, violent basketball, culminating in “The Punch,” which we’ll get to soon enough. First, we start with the 1977 postseason, where two crucial games were marred by mass bellicosity. The first was in a winner-take-all game three of the first round series between the Pistons and Warriors. Even with everything on the line in a close game, the tension got to Golden State’s Dudley and Detroit’s Money in the third quarter, when an entanglement under the hoop led to punches being thrown. Soon enough, everyone on the court was involved as were a multitude of paying customers. Pistons star Bob Lanier even climbed into the stands to assault a fan who had sucker punched teammate M.L. Carr during the fracas. Blood was spilled, numerous arrests were made, and the invisible barrier between player and fan had been shattered. The end result? Personal fouls assessed to Dudley and Money. No technical fouls, no suspensions, no fines. There was no such leniency for Dawkins and Lucas, who were ejected and fined after squaring off in the fourth quarter of game two of the NBA Finals. Dawkins’ initial beef was actually with Bob Gross, when the two got tangled up and tumbled to the floor together while fighting for a rebound. After Dawkins threw a punch at Gross (which he missed, instead hitting teammate Doug Collins, causing a cut over his eye that needed stitches), Lucas engaged him at half court. In one of the most absurd moments in NBA history, Lucas and Dawkins squared off like boxers, fists raised, dancing around each other, while teammates, coaches, referees, fans, and cops swarmed around them in complete chaos. Luckily, the fight was broken up before further damage could be done. The 76ers won the game to take a 2-0 series lead but the Trail Blazers ultimately came away with the series victory.

10) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lakers) v Kent Benson (Bucks), 1977

After Milwaukee drafted him with the top pick in 1969, Abdul-Jabbar finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds in his NBA debut, a Bucks win over Detroit. Eight years later, the Bucks drafted another center #1 overall to replace Kareem, whom they had traded to the Lakers. How did things go for Benson in his inaugural NBA appearance?  Well, it lasted exactly two minutes and ended with Abdul-Jabbar punching him so hard that Benson suffered a concussion, a swollen eye, and a cut that required stitches. To be fair, Benson did score two points and snag a rebound in those 120 seconds, so not too shabby, right? He also threw an elbow to the gut of Abdul-Jabbar, leading to the legendary center’s retaliation. Perhaps struggling with the effects of his shellacking at Kareem’s hands, Benson had a disappointing rookie season and was soon after traded by the Bucks for Bob Lanier. 

11) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lakers) v Kevin Kunnert (Rockets), 1977

We’re taking a flippant approach to most of the incidents on this list, but this one was quite serious, almost to a deadly extent. In an early December Lakers-Rockets game at The Forum, a shoving match broke out between Abdul-Jabbar and Kunnert. Lakers power forward Kermit Washington came over first to get involved, followed by Houston’s Rudy Tomjanovich. As Tomjanovich was sprinting up to join the fray, Washington turned and swung at him. Due to the angle, force, and location of the strike, Tomjanovich was left slumped on the ground, lifeless in a pool of his own blood, suffering from what would later be identified as a fractured skull. It became known simply as “The Punch” and the ramifications were severe, not just for Tomjanovich (who ended up fighting for his life in intensive care and missed five months of the season) and Washington (who was suspended 60 games, fined $10,000, traded to the Celtics, and vilified for the remainder of his career by fans and the media) but for the league at large, which was already suffering image problems.

12) Danny Ainge (Celtics) v Tree Rollins (Hawks), 1983

“Tree Bites Man” read the Boston Herald headline on the morning of April 25, 1983, describing the latest clash in the ’80s Celtics-Hawks rivalry. The “Tree” was Wayne “Tree” Rollins, an intimidating, 7’1″ center for the Hawks. The “Man” was Ainge, a feisty shooting guard for the Celtics. The setting was the Boston Garden for a deciding game three of a first round playoff series. The heavily favored Celtics were cruising with a sizable lead in the third quarter when things got heated. Rollins was jogging down the court after a made basket when the always instigating Ainge got in his way. The Hawks center responded with an elbow to the much smaller (6’4″) Celtics guard’s head and Ainge escalated things further by applying a tackle worthy of a Patriots linebacker. As players from both teams swarmed around him, Rollins bit Ainge’s finger at the bottom of the scrum, causing a laceration that required four stitches. Rollins, who later claimed he was acting in self-defense as Ainge was attempting to poke him in the eye, was fined $5,000 and suspended five games (which were served at the beginning of the ’83-’84 season, as the Hawks were eliminated in this contest). Ainge received a $1,000 fine and no suspension but the Celtics struggled in the next round, getting swept by the Bucks.

13) Larry Bird (Celtics) v Julius Erving (76ers), 1984

One of the best individual rivalries in NBA history, Bird vs. Erving was waged in epic Conference Finals series between the Celtics and 76ers in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1985. Though the adversaries seemed to have genuine distaste for each other, their rivalry remained civil until a regular season contest early in ’84-’85. Bird and the Celtics were dominating that evening at Boston Garden, with the Boston star ultimately dropping 42 points in an easy win. Perhaps it was something the notoriously caustic Bird said or maybe it was just the realization that he and the Sixers had been supplanted as the league’s best forward and team, respectively, but something snapped in the normally unflappable Erving. He gave a shove to the chest of Bird, who then wrapped his hands around Erving’s neck. Several more future Hall of Fame players then got involved, including Moses Malone, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, and Charles Barkley, who successfully applied a chokehold on Bird, allowing Erving to get in a solid jab before things calmed down. Bird and Erving were both ejected from the game and the Celtics went on to win, 130-119.

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14) Ralph Sampson (Rockets) v Jerry Sichting (Celtics), 1986

What was it with these Celtics guards catching the ire of much bigger opponents? The height differential was especially staggering here, with the 7’4″ Sampson towering over the 6’1″ Sichting. Nevertheless, they knotted up under the basket during the second quarter of game five of the 1986 NBA Finals and the irritated Sampson threw a right hook. Both rosters immediately congregated, with Bill Walton yanking Sampson to the floor while Hakeem Olajuwon started throwing wild haymakers (Olajuwon was a notorious hot head at the time, having been previously ejected from two games earlier in this postseason). Both Sichting and Sampson were ejected from this game, proving it was an unwise act of violence for Sampson, who was Houston’s second best player while Sichting was Boston’s seventh man. Somehow the Rockets rallied anyway, pulling away for a 111-96 victory to extend the series, which the Celtics clinched three days later in a game six win.

15) Rick Mahorn (Pistons) v Charles Oakley (Bulls), 1988

It worked out for him in the end but there’s a reason Michael Jordan was upset when the Bulls traded Oakley to the Knicks in 1988 in exchange for Bill Cartwright and it’s perfectly encapsulated in this confrontation. This was arguably also the true beginning of the contentious Bulls-Pistons rivalry of the late ’80s and early ’90s. The two teams were neck-and-neck for the top seed in the East when they faced off in mid January of 1988 in Chicago. In a performance typical of the “Jordan Rules” defensive strategy of the time, the Pistons threw a bevy of bruising front liners at the Bulls megastar, including Mahorn, who took it a little too far. As Jordan went up for a shot, Mahorn pulled him down with a horse collar tackle and Oakley immediately stepped in. We were unfortunately denied a mano-a-mano confrontation between two of the toughest guys in league history, as numerous other players and coaches entered the fray. We did at least get the humorous display of Bulls coach Doug Collins attempting to grab Mahorn from behind and getting summarily flung into the scorers table. Jordan was so impressed by Oakley’s bodyguard act that he reportedly offered to pay his teammate’s subsequent fine. But a few months later, Oakley was shipped off in the aforementioned trade, spending the next decade picking fights in a Knicks uniform.

16) Charles Barkley (76ers) v Bill Laimbeer (Pistons), 1990

The “Bad Boy” Pistons were arguably the most detested team in NBA history and right at the center of it was Laimbeer. Seemingly every great player in the league in the late ’80s and early ’90s had beef with Laimbeer, leading to plenty of altercations above and beyond what was sanctioned. The most notable came in this Pistons-76ers tilt late in the ’89-’90 season. Would it surprise you to learn that Rick “McNasty” Mahorn was also involved? The erstwhile Pistons power forward was playing in his first season in Philly and his former teammates really laid out the welcome wagon. It started when Isiah Thomas, seemingly out of nowhere, took a swing at the much larger Mahorn, who laughed it off. Then, in the waning moments of the game, Mahorn dunked over Dennis Rodman and began trash talking his replacement in the Detroit starting lineup. Laimbeer didn’t take kindly to his language and shoved the ball into Mahorn’s face. As the referees pulled Mahorn away, Barkley swooped in to start swinging at Laimbeer. Both benches cleared and after some more pushing and shoving (including from the normally serene James Edwards), Barkley and Laimbeer almost tussled one more time in the tunnel after they were both ejected. All told, over $160,000 worth of fines were handed out for this incident, which set the all-time record.

17) Kevin Johnson (Suns) v Doc Rivers (Knicks), 1993

When tape was leaked in 2014 of Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist comments, two of the most vocal leaders in the campaign to strip him of ownership were Rivers, then coach of the Clippers, and Johnson, then mayor of Sacramento. It was quite a surprising alliance because three decades prior, those two were at the center of one of the nastiest altercations in NBA history. Things went down right before halftime in a late season marquee match-up between the Suns and Knicks, who held the #1 seed in their respective conferences. Johnson used a forearm shiver to fight through a screen from Rivers, knocking the Knicks point guard to the ground. Rivers bounced up and charged at Johnson as both teams scrambled immediately into the fray at half court. Just as the fracas had seemingly died down, New York’s Greg Anthony, who was inactive (and dressed in street clothes) due to an ankle injury, sprinted out and punched Johnson, leading to a second full-scale melee. The supporting acts in this fight reads like a who’s who of NBA pugilism, with cameos from Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Danny Ainge, Anthony Mason, Pat Riley (who came away with ripped pants), and Charles Barkley (who claimed he was only trying to keep peace and, to be fair, avoided suspension or a fine for his actions).

18) Jo Jo English (Bulls) v Derek Harper (Knicks), 1994

Did you really think we were finished with the Pat Riley era Knicks? No, my friend, settle in. We’re just getting started. Because this fight was notable not just for its shocking brutality but for its proximity to commissioner David Stern, who was in attendance when it went down at Chicago Stadium. Harper and English kicked it off by jawing at each other, then engaging in a wrestling hold. The momentum of their tackling sent them spilling into the stands, where both benches cleared and set off a full scale donnybrook as Stern was caught on TV cameras just a few rows away from the action, looking on in chagrin. A massive amount of fines were handed out, while English was suspended for one game and Harper for two. More pertinently, Stern’s first hand baring of witness led to the NBA cracking down on fighting with new regulations passed in the ensuing offseason, including automatic suspensions for players leaving the bench (which would subsequently bite the Knicks in the ass in the 1997 playoffs). As a fun fact, this is also the game that infamously ended with Scottie Pippen refusing to leave the bench when Phil Jackson drew up the final play for Toni Kukoc.

19) Dale Davis (Pacers) v Michael Smith (Kings), 1995

The new fighting rules implemented by the NBA in 1994 got their first true use case early in the ’95-’96 season. The notoriously tough Davis got into it with Smith late in the third quarter of an otherwise forgettable Pacers-Kings game. Not too much happened in the altercation itself (there doesn’t even seem to be existing video footage) but the notable event was both benches clearing. Thus, for the first time, players were handed automatic suspensions for leaving the bench during a fight. This included Reggie Miller, as well as Mark Jackson, Tyus Edney, Sarunas Marciulionis, and Olden Polynice. In fact, so many players were suspended (13 in total) that the NBA had to space them out just to ensure that each team would have enough players to field a team for their next game. For their parts in inciting the whole thing, Davis and Smith were both suspended for two games, and fined $20,000 each.

20) P.J. Brown (Heat) v Charlie Ward (Knicks), 1997
21) Larry Johnson (Knicks) v Alonzo Mourning (Heat), 1998

David Stern giveth and David Stern taketh away. In consecutive playoff series between the Heat and Knicks, a minor scuffle led to key suspensions that arguably swung the result, first in favor of Miami in 1997 and then New York in 1998. In the 1997 Conference Semifinals, the Knicks held a 3-1 series lead when game five exploded into a dust-up between Brown and Ward. When the 6’11” Brown shoved the 6’2″ Ward into the stands at Miami Arena, several Knicks rose up to defend their much smaller teammate. This triggered automatic one game suspensions for Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Larry Johnson, and Allan Houston, who all left the bench. Taking into account the additional suspension for Ward, the penalties were so cumbersome that the league had to stagger them. Thus, the Knicks lost game six without Ewing, Houston, and Ward, then were blown out in game seven with Johnson and Starks watching helplessly in street clothes. The Knicks got some measure of revenge a year later in a first round re-match. Late in a tight game four at Madison Square Garden, former Hornets teammates Johnson and Mourning got tangled up on a rebound attempt and started swinging at each other. No actual blows were landed but the event is still memorable for the sight of pint-sized Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy clinging to Mourning’s legs in an attempt to slow him. Johnson and Mourning were both sidelined for the winner-take-all game five and this time it was the Knicks taking advantage of a suspension, easily winning 98-81 to finish off a huge upset.

22) Charles Barkley (Rockets) v Shaquille O’Neal (Lakers), 1999

Their sparring may be exclusively verbal now on “Inside the NBA” on TNT but Barkley and O’Neal once squared off in a heavyweight battle on the hardwood. It took place in Houston during Barkley’s swan song season, ’99-’00, when his Rockets hosted O’Neal’s Lakers. After Shaq hit him with a hard foul on a lay-up attempt, the pugnacious Barkley tossed the ball at his giant opponent’s head. The two then started shoving and subsequently throwing punches, before tumbling to the floor as their teammates surrounded them to attempt to break it up. Both players were ejected and suspended for the next game, which coincidentally was another Lakers-Rockets match-up two days later in Los Angeles. In fact, due to a Barkley injury that occurred a few weeks later, this wound up being the last time he and O’Neal were on the floor together in a game. Of course, they were later reunited on “Inside the NBA” and even took an opportunity at one point to re-hash the fight, with commentary from co-hosts Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.

23) Doug Christie (Kings) v Rick Fox (Lakers), 2002

Tensions were high between these in-state rivals in 2002, especially after the Lakers defeated the Kings in a controversial Conference Finals series. In fact, the hostility between the teams was so heightened that this fight took place not in a regular season or playoff game but in a meaningless pre-season match-up. Though he wasn’t involved in the initial brawl (he was was watching from the sidelines, recovering from toe surgery), Shaquille O’Neal was arguably the catalyst in this one. Just a few days prior, Shaq had dismissively referred to his rivals as the “Sacramento Queens,” which rankled an already agitated Kings roster, especially the hard nosed Christie. When Fox hit him with an (arguably intentional) elbow, Christie leaped up and uppercutted the Lakers forward straight to the chin. There was some further jawing from there but the players were quickly separated and ejected, seemingly de-escalating the situation. Instead, things got even crazier, as Fox and Christie began rumbling in the locker room tunnel and Christie’s wife Jackie joined in, swinging her purse at Fox. This is where Shaq did get physically involved despite his sore toe, joining the fray and initiating a shoving match with Vlade Divac.

24) Chris Mills (Warriors) v Bonzi Wells (Trail Blazers), 2002

While “The Punch” and the “Malice at the Palace” are the most sensationalized moments in NBA combat history, this fight was arguably the nadir of the league’s reputation. Moments after Rasheed Wallace drained a buzzer beater to give the Trail Blazers a victory, Wells and Mills began shoving each other and trading punches under the basket. This was brought under control relatively quickly but turned out to be just the first act of a strange tragedy. As the Blazers walked towards their locker room, Warriors fans began pelting them with trash. In a harbinger of malice to come, Wallace attempted to climb up into the stands to confront one fan who had assailed him with a wad of gum but was luckily subdued as the offending attendee was arrested. The Blazers successfully adjourned to their locker room and subsequently their team bus but somehow the action didn’t end there. In an unprecedented move, Mills parked his car in front of the Blazers team bus as it attempted to depart the arena, popped out with several of his friends, and began banging on the bus windows, demanding the Blazers players emerge and fight him. The Trail Blazers were eventually assisted by a police escort and luckily the escalations ended there. Mills and Wells were each suspended for three games while Wallace was levied with a fine. Though Mills was the biggest aggressor in this event, the actions of the Portland players portended the end of the “Jail Blazers” era, with the roster getting dismantled in the subsequent off-season.

25) Ron Artest (Pacers) v Ben Wallace (Pistons), 2004

An interesting hypothetical: What if this game wasn’t broadcast on national television? Would the aftermath have been so severe? As it stands, the “Malice at the Palace” did play out live on ESPN across the country and the consequences were dire. With under a minute to play in a Pacers blowout, Detroit’s Wallace received an unnecessary hard foul from Indiana’s Artest. The ensuing brawl between the two players was relatively mild and finished quickly but that obviously wasn’t the end of it. While Artest lay on the scorer’s table, awaiting the official’s decisions on ejections, a fan tossed a cup of Diet Coke at the Pacers All-Star. Artest sprang into action, leaping into the stands to identify the assailant. What happened from there is still almost too unbelievable to be true, with Artest accosting the wrong fan, followed by numerous players, most notably Stephen Jackson, Jermaine O’Neal, Rasheed Wallace, and Reggie Miller (in street clothes, as he was out with an injury) following Artest to either fight fans or attempt to de-escalate the situation. Also somehow involved: longtime Pacers broadcaster Mark Boyle (who suffered serious injuries after Artest accidentally knocked him over), Ben Wallace’s brother, and Rick Mahorn (who was a Pistons TV analyst at the time). The action spilled back onto the floor, where fans swarmed the vulnerable players until the police were finally able to quell the violence. Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season, which ultimately amounted to 86 games, an all-time record for an on-court incident. Jackson, O’Neal, and Wallace were all given lengthy suspensions as well, and many of the players involved were also forced to serve community service and/or anger management therapy.

26) Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith (Nuggets) v Mardy Collins and Nate Robinson (Knicks), 2006

In the aftermath of the “Malice at the Palace,” there were numerous reforms implemented by the NBA, most of them concentrating on limiting potential violence between fans and players. But the fallout of this brawl two years later gave David Stern and the league office an opportunity to crack down on on-court fighting once and for all. The incident started late in the fourth quarter of a Nuggets blow-out of the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, when New York’s Collins committed a flagrant foul on Denver’s Smith. The players started chattering at each other while their teammates ran into the melee. This included the 5’9″ Robinson, who rankled Smith by pulling him off of Collins. After briefly being restrained by David Lee, Smith broke loose and tackled Robinson onto the floor, crashing into several photographers. While that brouhaha was being broken up, Anthony threw a punch at Collins, then comically backtracked across the court to avoid retribution, in a maneuver that would have been meme’d to death if it had occurred in the social media age. All 10 players who were on the floor during the incident were immediately ejected but the game surprisingly continued on to conclusion. The silver lining for the NBA was that fans were not involved in any way, allowing Stern to concentrate on bringing the hammer down on the players. Anthony was suspended for 15 games, Robinson and Smith for 10 each, and Collins for six. It’s notable that since this incident, the NBA has not had a further major battle royale, as even minor offenses in the interim have triggered major repercussions (some that have even swung playoff series). One more interesting fall-out of this fight was that it left the Nuggets desperate for a big scorer to carry the load while Anthony was sidelined, so just a couple days later they made the blockbuster trade for Allen Iverson.