Holiday Hostility: NBA Fights Lead to Suspensions, Costly Fines

It may be the holiday season, but there’s some hostile energy floating around the NBA. Two fights resulted in multiple ejections and suspensions during the final weekend of the calendar year. 

The first occurred during Friday’s game between the Mavericks and Suns when Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkić struck Mavericks forward Naji Marshall on the head. Marshall threw a punch back that hit Nurkić in the face. Marshall was suspended four games without pay as according to the NBA, he “attempted to further engage Nurkić in a hostile manner” outside the locker rooms. Nurkić received a three-game suspension, while Dallas forward P.J. Washington was suspended one game for escalating the on-court altercation.

Two days later, six players and coaches were ejected in the final minute of the game between the Rockets and Heat following an altercation between Houston’s Amen Thompson and Miami’s Tyler Herro. Thompson grabbed Herro by his jersey and threw him to the ground, which referee Marc Davis described as a “body slam.” Players and coaches then rushed to the scene, which led to ejections for Thompson and Herro, Rockets guard Jalen Green, head coach Ime Udoka, assistant coach Ben Sullivan; and Heat guard Terry Rozier. The NBA has yet to announce any suspensions for the incident.

The NBA has cracked down on fighting over the last few decades—especially since the infamous Malice at the Place in 2004—but these incidents aren’t exactly rare. The NBA PR tracks all the league’s suspensions, and there have been five other incidents of suspensions due to physical altercations this calendar year, including Joel Embiid from earlier this season after he shoved a media member. The fact the latest two incidents were just two days apart is likely nothing more than a coincidence.

According to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, a suspension of fewer than 20 games results in a reduction of 1/145th of a player’s salary per game (1/110th if the suspension were more than 20 games). Nurkić’s three-game suspension results in a loss of $375,000 from his $18.13 million salary, while Marshall will lose about $236,500 and Washington about $107,000. 

While it’s unclear if there will be any suspensions from the Rockets–Heat game, a potential suspension would cost around $200,000 per game for Herro and $64,000 for Thompson.