Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart has been suspended seven games by the NBA for leaving his team’s bench area, “aggressively” entering an on-court altercation, and fighting, the NBA announced on Wednesday in a press release (Twitter link).
The league also confirmed three more suspensions that stemmed from the fight between the Pistons and Hornets during Monday’s game. Hornets forward Miles Bridges and center Moussa Diabate have been suspended for four games apiece, while Pistons center Jalen Duren will be required to sit out for two games.
According to the NBA, Stewart received the most significant penalty in part because of his “repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.” He was also the only one of the four suspended players who wasn’t already on the court and came from the bench to get involved in the melee.
Stewart was previously suspended two games for aggressively trying to confront LeBron James during a Nov. 2021 game; three games after punching Drew Eubanks prior to a game in Feb. 2024; and two games for his involvement in an altercation between the Pistons and Timberwolves last March. He also received an automatic one-game suspension last January after racking up six flagrant foul points.
The league stated that Bridges and Diabate each received four-game bans for “fighting and escalating the altercation,” while Duren was given a two-game suspension for “initiating the altercation and fighting.”
The incident occurred with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter of Monday’s matchup in Charlotte. Tensions between the two opposing centers came to a head after Duren received the inbound pass, drove into the lane, and was fouled hard by Diabate. The two players butted heads, then Duren pushed Diabate in the face, igniting a fight that lasted more than 30 seconds (YouTube link).
Bridges shoved Duren with two hands, while a furious Diabate rushed after and attempted to punch Duren. His punch didn’t connect as he was held by back Tobias Harris, but Diabate continued to pursue Duren, who slowly walked away along the baseline as the Hornets center was stopped by several coaches.
The incident seemed like it could have ended at that point, but then Bridges and Duren appeared to exchange words, and Bridges approached Duren and threw a left-handed punch. Duren responded with a right that didn’t connect as Stewart rushed onto the court to confront Bridges, who threw another punch. A brief and chaotic tussle ensued, with Stewart appearing to have Bridges in a headlock at one point, before the players were separated.
Duren will begin serving his suspension on Wednesday when the Pistons visit Toronto and will also miss the first game after the All-Star break, in New York. However, he’ll still be allowed to take part in his first All-Star game on Sunday, tweets NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Stewart, meanwhile, will miss the Raptors and Knicks games, then five more beyond that. He’d be eligible to return on March 3 in Cleveland. Paul Reed figures to take on a more prominent role in Detroit’s frontcourt with Duren and Stewart out.
Bridges and Diabate, meanwhile, will miss Wednesday’s Hornets game vs. Atlanta, as well as post-All-Star matchups with Houston (Feb. 19), Cleveland (Feb. 20), and Washington (Feb. 22).
The suspensions will cost each player 1/145th of his 2025/26 salary per game. That works out to $724,138 for Stewart, $689,655 for Bridges, $89,423 for Duren, and $62,641 for Diabate.
Moose was the instigator and the one who overreacted to duren getting his face out of his face. Happy to see duren got the least amount
Watch Duran before the foul and push to the face. Nice little cheap shot. Go back 30 seconds before the foul, the push in the face etc. You’ll see.
Anyways…not that big a deal far as im concerned and Beef Stew just might be a bigger d**khead fake tough guy as Draymond. I’d love for both to pull this stuff against curtain guys in different eras.
Duren started it and should have gottebn 4 games too. Seriously he wasn’t hit that hard to face slam somebody.
Face slam? Come back to reality.
looked like a head butt unless you are a piston fan and makes excuses.
He just got him out of his face.
So you’re telling me that if you were nose to nose with someone and they did this to you, you would understand why it was being done and leave it at that, right?
“Nah, it’s cool, guys, he was just getting me out of his face.”
🤣🤣🤣
Diabate was beyond aggressive (head butts aren’t the same thing as “nose to nose”).
So if someone got up in your face and you’re nose to nose with them you’d just stand there?
Did duren do a head butt?
Did Diabate take 3 steps toward a stationary Duren and mash his head into Duren?
sybau
Hornets fan here:
I understand the argument of if moose didn’t get in Durans face, nothing would have happened. But we see guys get in each others face all the time. I think it was durans face push on moose that started it all.
At the very least, I would have liked to have seen equal punishment all around but maybe im biased
What warranted getting in in Duren’s face? It wasn’t like he made a good play and blocked him and stopped him from making the shot, he gave him a hard foul then got up in his face. Honestly Duren showed composure and didn’t just straight up deck him.
They were pushing a shoving each other before the inbound pass 10 seconds prior. They were playing physical ball.
I was waiting for them all to kiss each other. Bunch of softies.
I was talking to somebody yesterday about Stewart, Greymond and Dillon Brooks and the differences.
I think Greymond and Brooks play that mind game within the framework of the game. Brooks especially.
Green is out of control a little more often and gets the T’s from losing his cool.
I think Brooks keeps his cool a lot more often, but he gets plenty of T’s as well.
Stewart just wants to fight. He’s not playing mind games. He’s just out there ready to fight.
Why is Stewart always involved? lol
Stewart should have been 70 games, which would actually stop him from keeping on doing this.
Duncan Robinson with the proper response to people trying to fight you in a non-contact sport:
link to larrybrownsports.com
Thug life baby…
U of M fan here who loves Diabate- he was fouling Duren hard (dirty?) the entire game because he couldn’t stop him and then charged at Duren head down initiating the entire mess. Duren not blameless but come on… This whole incident was on Moose.
Pistons play physical. Hornets trying to grow up as a team. NBA is not about fighting. They will all learn one way or another. Stewart grew up playing in north Bronx, NY. Rough place to play ball. He needs to grow up.
Bro Stew grew up in suburban Rochester, NY with a mom and dad, divorced, but he talks about his father being his strength all his life. he’s about as gangsta as “Clarence” from 8 mile. He’s nba tough but real life tough.
^ its a massive misnomer that any NBA player is somehow IRL soft. Literally every NBA player could destroy a citizen who isn’t trained in MMA. Steve Nash is destroying you in a fight. Pro athletes are all better fighters from day 1.
@Davey
Bro stop it. You’re confusing being an athlete with being a good fighter. But my comment wasn’t about his ability to fight. My point was that the nba is full of “fake” tough guys. In an nba game setting you know there’s only so much you can get away with. They know who to press and they no they bodies will get in between them and break it up with not much really happening to you. But have that same energy in the streets when ppl WON’T try to stop you or things might escalate and guys fight dirty. Now a couple of guys are real life crazy like Vernon Maxwell but most aren’t like him. And PS Steve Nash ain’t whoopin nooooooobody’s ass. Tall doesn’t mean you can throw hands.
^ missed the point entirely. Yes, Nash is wrecking you lil bro. Pro athletes usually do boxing training too. A trained MMA fighter could stand a chance, but no one in the NBA who is over 6’0″ is “soft” on any level IRL. You dont know ball/or real life apparently.
@Davey
I’m not missing your point at all and you’re being stubborn. First off, am AVERAGE mma fighter would destroy a guy like Steve Nash and maybe even Shaq if they know how to fight. And he’s, a fighter film the streets that knows how to throw hands and has been in fights could destroy Nash. Bring an athlete doesn’t mean they can fight.. If you wish to disagree then fine but don’t be insulting. A 6’3 220 guy who knows how to handle himself could absolutely beat an nba player residual if it’s a street fight where anything goes. But my real point was that NBA fights are not the and a real life fights You can be in since extra in the mba fight because they know summertime will break it up before it gets real.
Calvin Murphy was a bad man.
Who wins the fight between Stewart and Ron Artest? Lmao.
It’s crazy how close they are in size!
The answer is: whoever wears the dirtier pair of black Nike AF1’s lol
1st smart thing you did all day. never get into a fight with a guy wearing those or dirty timbs.
Yeah I’m thinking of Precious he played in Bronx. Wrong player. And he grew up in NYC.
Stewart did play in Bronx and NYC. In tournaments. Most talented basketball players in tricity area. Will play in NYC at some point.
Rochelle is a city close to the Bronx, on my mind I guess. Gansta ???? Streeball is rougher depending where you play.
yeah Rochester is 6 hours from the Bronx
Draymond is 100x the player Stewart and Brooks are. Even Grayson Allen clears Brooks and Stewart by VORP. Stewart and Brooks are just low skill guys playing 1980s style.
That said, it would be fun to see a team run out a Stewart Green Brooks Allen Morant starting 5. Might be nasty. A team should try and assemble an all-villain team or at least starting 5. We all know who would qualify for that roster lol
@Davey
Nahhh…I hate all 3 but don’t be disrespectful. Dray is nowhere the shooter that Dillon has turned himself into. Dray’s value is good defense and IQ. Even Stew is a decent shooter for a big. Dillon has been a legit 20 game a night guy the lady two years. In the nba that takes skill.
Dillon Brooks has earned my respect with his play the last couple years.
The weirdest thing about this is LaMelo got nothing despite leaving the bench.
Inconsistent application of the rules is a characteristic of Silver’s NBA.
Yes, exactly. Ball ran out to the key area on one side of the court and a coach grabbed him to make sure he didn’t go further and walked him back.
Definitely should’ve had something if going by the rulebook?
Did you see Duncan Robinson run like a scared cat?
Looked more like he was rolling his eyes at the manchildren.
I like how you miss the point of “basketball, a skill game. not a contact sport”.
The post is not on basketball it is regarding a brawl that Dumcan wanted mo part of. He would not be in my foxhole. Stewart is a tough one. Hopefullu he called our Bridges for beating on ladies.
^ You might have missed the back story on why Duncan Robinson was shaking his head at Beef Stew leaving the bench and throwing hands.
Duncan has been to 2 NBA Finals, multiple ECF …. big games that matter. He knows that player maturity is key to a young team like the PISTONS.
I guess it was a fight by basketball standards, but it was more pushing and shoving than anything.
Still, Isaiah Stewart might be the worst decision maker in the league. Now his team is without him for two weeks – what did he achieve for it? Nothing. The guy is more concerned with being some kind of faux-enforcer than contributor.
Stewart’s been fortunate that his career coincides with Silver’s tenure as commissioner. Silver’s light touch in handling this virtually assures that another player will come off the bench to participate in an altercation before this season is out.