It seems like Isaiah Stewart is embracing the Detroit Pistons’ culture by acting tough and looking for problems on the court just like old players used to do. That formula helped the Pistons win two championships, but also earn the hate of the entire NBA world.
They are years away from being contenders, but Stewart is already channeling his inner bad boy by going after several stars in the league. After chasing LeBron James on Sunday’s game following an elbow from The King, Isaiah has been under scrutiny for his explosive temper.
That’s why Instagram page Bucket collected six prior moments where the young center did some questionable things that drew a big reaction from the ‘victims’ and the fans.
Just last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo had some words for a rookie Stewart after the center shoved the then-defending NBA MVP. The Greek Freak didn’t appreciate that and approached Stewart after the game. They needed to be separated before the situation escalated.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had some words for Pistons' rookie Isaiah Stewart after the Bucks win 😳pic.twitter.com/EiTHcPtg11
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 7, 2021
Before he starred in the infamous sequence with LeBron James, Isaiah bodied Blake Griffin who tried to get on his face before officials calmed things down.
Blake Griffin and Isaiah Stewart get into it 👀 https://t.co/x1f0ssguD7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 6, 2021
Moreover, a Youtube user called “Cristian1441” put together a series of videos where the 20-year-old starred in sketchy situations. Last season, he kicked LeBron James while going for a rebound. He had another altercation with Blake Griffin and even exchanged some words with Montrezl Harrell. If that wasn’t enough, he ripped Dwight Howard’s shorts during a play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAzN8QlpvaM
Furthermore, there’s one pic that made some noise around the league, yet is hard to find a video of it. During a recent duel against the Dallas Mavericks, Stewart appears to kick Luka Doncic in the groin, adding another questionable moment to his indecorous record.
The ‘Bad Boys’ became a big deal thanks to these antics several decades ago. It’s way too early to say this team will adopt that ‘philosophy,’ especially knowing how they acted when Isaiah was looking for LeBron over the weekend. If they embrace the villain role and become a solid team in the East, we could see another Pistons group likely to get in trouble, as it happened in the 80s-90s and the 2000s, with the surprising team that won it all with a physical game, too.
**Credit for idea: Buckets**
